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Joel 3
Living Bible
Joel 3
Living Bible
3 “At that time, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,” says the Lord, 2 “I will gather the armies of the world into the ‘Valley Where Jehovah Judges’[a] and punish them there for harming my people, for scattering my inheritance among the nations and dividing up my land.
3 “They divided up my people as their slaves; they traded a young lad for a prostitute, and a little girl for wine enough to get drunk. 4 Tyre and Sidon, don’t you try to interfere! Are you trying to take revenge on me, you cities of Philistia? Beware, for I will strike back swiftly and return the harm to your own heads.
5 “You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures and carried them off to your heathen temples. 6 You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, who took them far from their own land. 7 But I will bring them back again from all these places you have sold them to, and I will pay you back for all that you have done. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans far away. This is a promise from the Lord.”
9 Announce this far and wide: Get ready for war! Conscript your best soldiers; collect all your armies. 10 Melt your plowshares into swords, and beat your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak be strong. 11 Gather together and come, all nations everywhere. And now, O Lord, bring down your warriors!
12 “Collect the nations; bring them to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. 13 Now let the sickle do its work; the harvest is ripe and waiting. Tread the winepress, for it is full to overflowing with the wickedness of these men.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes waiting in the valley for the verdict of their doom! For the Day of the Lord is near, in the Valley of Judgment. 15 The sun and moon will be darkened and the stars withdraw their light. 16 The Lord shouts from his Temple in Jerusalem, and the earth and sky begin to shake. But to his people Israel, the Lord will be very gentle. He is their Refuge and Strength.
17 “Then you shall know at last that I am the Lord your God in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem shall be mine forever; the time will come when no foreign armies will pass through her anymore.
18 “Sweet wine will drip from the mountains, and the hills shall flow with milk. Water will fill the dry streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the Temple of the Lord to water Acacia Valley. 19 Egypt will be destroyed, and Edom, too, because of their violence against the Jews, for they killed innocent people in those nations.
20 “But Israel will prosper forever, and Jerusalem will thrive as generations pass. 21 For I will avenge the blood of my people; I will not clear their oppressors of guilt. For my home is in Jerusalem with my people.”
Footnotes
- Joel 3:2 Valley Where Jehovah Judges, or “Valley of Jehoshaphat.”
Joel 3
New International Version
Joel 3
New International Version
The Nations Judged
3 [a]“In those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes(A) of Judah(B) and Jerusalem,
2 I will gather(C) all nations
and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[b](D)
There I will put them on trial(E)
for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered(F) my people among the nations
and divided up my land.
3 They cast lots(G) for my people
and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine(H) to drink.
4 “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon(I) and all you regions of Philistia?(J) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.(K) 5 For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c](L) 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(M) that you might send them far from their homeland.
7 “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,(N) and I will return(O) on your own heads what you have done. 8 I will sell your sons(P) and daughters to the people of Judah,(Q) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,(R) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.(S)
9 Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare for war!(T)
Rouse the warriors!(U)
Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
10 Beat your plowshares into swords
and your pruning hooks(V) into spears.(W)
Let the weakling(X) say,
“I am strong!”(Y)
11 Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
and assemble(Z) there.
Bring down your warriors,(AA) Lord!
12 “Let the nations be roused;
let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,(AB)
for there I will sit
to judge(AC) all the nations on every side.
13 Swing the sickle,(AD)
for the harvest(AE) is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,(AF)
for the winepress(AG) is full
and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”
14 Multitudes,(AH) multitudes
in the valley(AI) of decision!
For the day of the Lord(AJ) is near
in the valley of decision.(AK)
15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.(AL)
16 The Lord will roar(AM) from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;(AN)
the earth and the heavens will tremble.(AO)
But the Lord will be a refuge(AP) for his people,
a stronghold(AQ) for the people of Israel.
Blessings for God’s People
17 “Then you will know(AR) that I, the Lord your God,(AS)
dwell in Zion,(AT) my holy hill.(AU)
Jerusalem will be holy;(AV)
never again will foreigners invade her.(AW)
18 “In that day the mountains will drip new wine,(AX)
and the hills will flow with milk;(AY)
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.(AZ)
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house(BA)
and will water the valley of acacias.[d](BB)
19 But Egypt(BC) will be desolate,
Edom(BD) a desert waste,
because of violence(BE) done to the people of Judah,
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 Judah will be inhabited forever(BF)
and Jerusalem through all generations.
21 Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?(BG)
No, I will not.(BH)”
The Lord dwells in Zion!(BI)
Joel 3
King James Version
Joel 3
King James Version
3 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.
7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:
8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.
9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
10 Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.
11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.
12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.
18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.
20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the Lord dwelleth in Zion.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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