Joel 3 CEVDCUS06

The Lord Will Judge the Nations

1 At that time I, the Lord, will make Judah and Jerusalem prosperous again.

2 Then in Judgment Valley I will bring together the nations that scattered my people Israel everywhere in the world, and I will bring charges against those nations. They divided up my land

3 and gambled to see who would get my people; they sold boys and girls to pay for prostitutes and wine.

4 You people of Tyre and Sidon and you Philistines, why are you doing this? Are you trying to get even with me? I'll strike back before you know what's happened.

5 You've taken my prized possessions, including my silver and gold, and carried them off to your temples.

6 You have dragged the people of Judah and Jerusalem from their land and sold them to the Greeks.

7 But I'll make the people of Judah determined to come home, and what happened to them will happen to you.

8 I'll hand over your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, who live far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment in Judgment Valley

9 Say to the nations:“Get ready for war!Be eager to fight.Line up for battleand prepare to attack.

10 Make swords out of plowsand spears out of garden tools.Strengthen every weakling.”

11 Hurry, all you nations!Come quickly.Ask the Lord to bringhis warriors along.

12 You must come nowto Judgment Valley,where the Lord will judgethe surrounding nations.

13 They are a field of ripe crops.Bring in the harvest!They are grapes piled high.Start trampling them now!If our enemy's sins were wine,every jar would overflow.

14 Crowds fill Decision Valley.The judgment day of the Lordwill soon be here—

15 no light from the sun or moon,and stars no longer shine.

16 From the heart of Jerusalemthe Lord roars like a lion,shaking the earth and sky.But the Lord is a fortress,a place of safetyfor his people Israel.

God Will Bless His People

17 I am the Lord your God.And you will know I live on Zion,my sacred hill,because Jerusalem will be sacred,untouched by foreign troops.

18 On that day, fruitful vineyardswill cover the mountains.And your cattle and goatsthat graze on the hillswill produce a lot of milk.Streams in Judahwill never run dry;a stream from my housewill flow in Acacia Valley.

19 Egypt and Edom were crueland brutal to Judah,without a reason.Now their countries will becomea barren desert,

20 but Judah and Jerusalemwill always have people.

21 I, the Lord, live on Mount Zion.I will punish the guiltyand defend the innocent.

Chapters

1 2 3