Joel 3

1 [Yahweh says this]: “At that time [DOU], I will enable [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah to prosper again.

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I will cause to return the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 [Then] in the Valley of Judgment I will gather together [the people of] all the [other] nations; I will judge [and punish] them because they scattered my Israeli people and forced them to go to other countries. They divided up my land

Then will I assemble all the nations, and I will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will hold judgment with them there because of my people and my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and for my land [which] they have divided out.

3 and they (threw marked stones/cast lots) to determine who would get [each of] my people. Then they sold [some of] the Israeli boys and girls [to get money to pay] for prostitutes and wine to drink.

And for my people did they cast lots; and gave a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, and drank it.

4 You [people of] [APO] Tyre and Sidon [cities] and [you people of] the Philistia [region], I certainly have not [RHQ] done anything to harm you! [So] if you are trying to get revenge on me, I will very quickly get revenge on you.

And also ye, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all ye districts of Philistia? is this the recompense which ye repay me? or do ye only commence to render me evil?— swiftly and speedily will I bring back your recompense upon your own head;

5 You have taken the silver and gold and [other] things from my temple and put them in your temples.

Because my silver and my gold have ye taken, and the handsomest of my precious things have ye carried into your temples;

6 [You dragged away] the people of Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah, and you took them far away and sold them to people in Greece.

And the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Jevanim, in order to remove them far from their borders.

7 But I will cause my people to want to return from the places to which you sold them, and I will do to you what you did to them.

Behold, I will awaken them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and I will bring back your recompense upon your own head;

8 Then I will cause [some of] your sons and your daughters to be sold to the people of Judah! And [some of] them will be sold to the Sabea people-group, who live far away. [That will certainly happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

And I will deliver your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation far off; for the Lord hath spoken it.

9 Proclaim to the [people of all] nations, “Prepare for a war! Summon your soldiers, and tell them to stand in their battle positions.

Proclaim ye this among the nations, Prepare war, wake up the mighty men; let them draw near; let them come up—all the men of war.

10 [Take] your plows and make swords from them, and [take] your pruning knives and make spears from them. [Even] the weak people must [also] be like [MET] [strong] soldiers.

Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pruning-knives into spears: let the weak say, I am a hero.

11 All you [people from the] nations that are near [Judah] must come quickly and gather [in the Valley of Judgment].” But Yahweh, [when that happens], send your army [of angels to attack them]!

Assemble hastily together, and come, all ye nations from every side, and gather yourselves together: there doth the Lord strike down thy mighty ones.

12 The [people in] the nations near [Judah] must get ready and come to the Valley of Judgment. There Yahweh will sit and judge [and punish] them.

Let the nations awake, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations from every side.

13 [They are like] [MET] crops that are ready to be harvested; so [strike them like] [MET] [a farmer] swings his sickle to cut the grain. They are like [MET] grapes that are piled high in the pits where they will be pressed; because they are very wicked, [punish them severely] [MET] now, like [MET] [a farmer] tramples on the grapes until the pits are full of juice.

Put forth the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread down [the grapes]; for the press is full; the vats overflow; for great is their wickedness.

14 [There will be] huge crowds of people in that Valley of Judgment. It will soon be the time that Yahweh [will punish them].

Multitudes, multitudes are in the valley of decision; for near is the day of the Lord in the valley of decision.

15 [At that time] there will be no light from the sun or moon, and the stars will not shine.

Sun and moon are obscured, and stars withdraw their brightness.

16 From Zion [Hill] in Jerusalem Yahweh will shout, and his voice will be like thunder, and his voice will cause the sky and the earth to shake. But Yahweh will protect [MET] his people; he will be like [MET] a strong wall behind which the people of Israel will be protected.

And the Lord will cry aloud out of Zion, and from Jerusalem will he send forth his voice; and the heavens and the earth shall quake; but the Lord will be a refuge for his people, and a stronghold for the children of Israel.

17 [Yahweh says], “At that time, you Israeli people will know that I am Yahweh, your God. I live on Zion, my sacred hill. Jerusalem will be a sacred [city], and [soldiers from] other countries will never conquer it again.

So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mount: and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall not pass through her any more.

18 At that time, there will be vineyards covering [MTY] the hills, and [your cattle and goats on] those hills will produce plenty of milk. The streams in Judah will never dry up. And a stream will flow from my temple into the Acacia Valley [northeast of the Dead Sea].

And it came to pass on that day, that the mountains shall drop down sweet new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the ravines of Judah shall flow with water; and a spring shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

19 [The armies of] Egypt and Edom attacked the people of Judah and killed [MTY] many people who had not done anything that was wrong. So [now] those countries will become deserts,

Egypt shall become a desolate land, and Edom shall become a desolate wilderness; because of the violence against the children of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood.

20 but there will always be people living in Jerusalem and [in other places] in Judea.

But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

21 [I], Yahweh, live on Zion [Hill in Jerusalem], and I will get revenge on the people [of Egypt and Edom] who killed [MTY] [many of my people].”

And I will avenge their blood that I have not yet avenged; for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.