God Judges the Nations

“For behold, (A)in those days and at that time,
When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
(B)I will also gather all nations,
And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
And I (C)will enter into judgment with them there
On account of My people, My heritage Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
They have also divided up My land.
They have (D)cast lots for My people,
Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

“Indeed, what have you to do with Me,
(E)O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?
Will you [a]retaliate against Me?
But if you [b]retaliate against Me,
Swiftly and speedily I will return your [c]retaliation upon your own head;
Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My [d]prized possessions.
Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.

“Behold, (F)I will raise them
Out of the place to which you have sold them,
And will return your [e]retaliation upon your own head.
I will sell your sons and your daughters
Into the hand of the people of Judah,
And they will sell them to the (G)Sabeans,[f]
To a people (H)far off;
For the Lord has spoken.”

(I)Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for war!
Wake up the mighty men,
Let all the men of war draw near,
Let them come up.
10 (J)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your [g]pruning hooks into spears;
(K)Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”
11 Assemble and come, all you nations,
And gather together all around.
Cause (L)Your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.

12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to (M)judge all the surrounding nations.
13 (N)Put in the sickle, for (O)the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the (P)winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For (Q)the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:4 Or render Me repayment
  2. Joel 3:4 Or repay Me
  3. Joel 3:4 Or repayment
  4. Joel 3:5 Lit. precious good things
  5. Joel 3:7 Or repayment
  6. Joel 3:8 Lit. Shebaites, Is. 60:6; Ezek. 27:22
  7. Joel 3:10 pruning knives

The Nations Judged

[a]“In those days and at that time,
    when I restore the fortunes(A) of Judah(B) and Jerusalem,
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.
They cast lots(G) for my people
    and traded boys for prostitutes;
    they sold girls for wine(H) to drink.

“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) For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[c](L) You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,(M) that you might send them far from their homeland.

“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. 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)

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)

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-21 is numbered 4:1-21.
  2. Joel 3:2 Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges; also in verse 12.
  3. Joel 3:5 Or palaces

The Day of the Lord(A)

14 Behold, (B)the day of the Lord is coming,
And your [a]spoil will be divided in your midst.
For (C)I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses [b]rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand (D)on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
(E)Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.

Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the (F)earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

(G)Thus the Lord my God will come,
And (H)all the saints with [c]You.

It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The [d]lights will diminish.
It shall be one day
(I)Which is known to the Lord
Neither day nor night.
But at (J)evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.

And in that day it shall be
That living (K)waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward [e]the eastern sea
And half of them toward [f]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
And the Lord shall be (L)King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
(M)“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.

10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. [g]Jerusalem shall be raised up and (N)inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, (O)and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses.

11 The people shall dwell in it;
And (P)no longer shall there be utter destruction,
(Q)But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem:

Their flesh shall [h]dissolve while they stand on their feet,
Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets,
And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths.

13 It shall come to pass in that day
That (R)a great panic from the Lord will be among them.
Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor,
And raise (S)his hand against his neighbor’s hand;
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem.
(T)And the wealth of all the surrounding nations
Shall be gathered together:
Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:1 plunder or booty
  2. Zechariah 14:2 Or plundered
  3. Zechariah 14:5 Or you; LXX, Tg., Vg. Him
  4. Zechariah 14:6 Lit. glorious ones
  5. Zechariah 14:8 The Dead Sea
  6. Zechariah 14:8 The Mediterranean Sea
  7. Zechariah 14:10 Lit. She
  8. Zechariah 14:12 Lit. decay

The Lord Comes and Reigns

14 A day of the Lord(A) is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions(B) will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

I will gather all the nations(C) to Jerusalem to fight against it;(D) the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped.(E) Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.(F) Then the Lord will go out and fight(G) against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.(H) On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,(I) east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split(J) in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake[a](K) in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come,(L) and all the holy ones with him.(M)

On that day there will be neither sunlight(N) nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique(O) day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night.(P) When evening comes, there will be light.(Q)

On that day living water(R) will flow(S) out from Jerusalem, half of it east(T) to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.(U)

The Lord will be king(V) over the whole earth.(W) On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.(X)

10 The whole land, from Geba(Y) to Rimmon,(Z) south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up(AA) high from the Benjamin Gate(AB) to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate,(AC) and from the Tower of Hananel(AD) to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place.(AE) 11 It will be inhabited;(AF) never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.(AG)

12 This is the plague with which the Lord will strike(AH) all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.(AI) 13 On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic.(AJ) They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another.(AK) 14 Judah(AL) too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected(AM)—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing.

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Footnotes

  1. Zechariah 14:5 Or My mountain valley will be blocked and will extend to Azel. It will be blocked as it was blocked because of the earthquake

The Son of Man Will Judge the Nations

31 (A)“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the [a]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 (B)All the nations will be gathered before Him, and (C)He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the (D)sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, (E)inherit the kingdom (F)prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 (G)for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; (H)I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was (I)naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; (J)I was in prison and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (K)inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, (L)‘Depart from Me, you cursed, (M)into the everlasting fire prepared for (N)the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they also will answer [b]Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, (O)inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And (P)these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 25:31 NU omits holy
  2. Matthew 25:44 NU, M omit Him

The Sheep and the Goats

31 “When the Son of Man comes(A) in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.(B) 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate(C) the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom(E) prepared for you since the creation of the world.(F) 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,(G) 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me,(H) I was sick and you looked after me,(I) I was in prison and you came to visit me.’(J)

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(K)

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me,(L) you who are cursed, into the eternal fire(M) prepared for the devil and his angels.(N) 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’(O)

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.(P)(Q)

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