Joe 3 | HCSB | STEP | Yes , in those days and at that time , when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem ,

‏ Joel 3

Judgment of the Nations

1 ^{▼▼Jl 4:1 in Hb}Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, ^b
2 I will gather all the nations ^c
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. ^{▼▼= The Lord Will Judge
,} ^e
I will enter into judgment with them there ^f
because of My people, My inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries ^g
and divided up My land. ^h
3 They cast lots for My people; ⁱ
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink. ^j

4 And also: Tyre, ^k Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia ^l – what are you to Me? Are you paying Me back or trying to get even with Me? I will quickly bring retribution on your heads. ^m 5 For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures ⁿ to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks ^o to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; ^p I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, ^q and they will sell them to the Sabeans, ^{▼▼Probably the south Arabian kingdom of Sheba (modern Yemen)
,} ^s to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

9 Proclaim this among the nations: ^t
Prepare for holy war; ^u
rouse the warriors; ^v
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears. ^w
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Come quickly, ^{▼▼LXX, Syr, Tg read Gather yourselves and come; Hb obscure} all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves. ^y
Bring down Your warriors there, Lord. ^z

12 Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations. ^aa
13 Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe. ^ab
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full; ^ac
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is great. ^ad

14 Multitudes, multitudes ^ae
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the Lord is near ^af
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining. ^ag
16 The Lord will roar from ^{▼▼Zion: Originally a term for the fortified section of Jerusalem and then, by extension, used for the temple and the city of Jerusalem both in the present time and in the future}Zion ^ai
and raise His voice from Jerusalem; ^aj
heaven and earth will shake. ^ak
But the Lord will be a refuge for His people, ^al
a stronghold for the Israelites. ^am

Israel Blessed

17 Then you will know
that I am ^{▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.}Yahweh your God, ^ao
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. ^ap
Jerusalem will be holy, ^aq
and foreigners will never overrun it again. ^ar
18 In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine, ^as
and the hills will flow with milk. ^at
All the streams of Judah will flow with water, ^au
and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house, ^av
watering the Valley of Acacias. ^{▼▼Or Shittim
,} ^ax
19 Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah ^ay
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, ^az
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt, ^{▼▼LXX, Syr read I will avenge their blood
,} ^bb
which I have not pardoned,
for the Lord dwells in Zion.