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Joel 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
Joel 3
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Will Rescue His People
3 [a]“In those days and at that time,
I will bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem.
2 I will gather all the nations.
I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.[b]
I will judge them there.
They scattered the Israelites, the people who belong to me,
among the nations.
They divided my land.
3 They threw dice for my people.
They traded boys for prostitutes.
They sold girls so that they could buy wine to drink.
4 “Now what do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon
and all the regions of Philistia?
Are you paying me back for something I have done?
If you are paying me back,
I will quickly pay you back for what you have done.
5 You took my silver and my gold.
You brought my finest treasures to your temples.
6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks.
That way you could send them far away from their land.
7 I am going to make them leave the place where you sold them.
I will pay you back for what you have done.
8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah.
They will sell them to the people of Sheba,
a nation that is far away.”
The Lord has spoken.
9 Announce this among the nations:
Prepare yourselves for war.
Wake up the warriors.
Have all the warriors come near and attack.
10 Hammer your plowblades into swords
and your pruning shears into spears.
Weaklings should say that they are warriors.
11 Hurry from every direction, and gather there, all you nations.
O Lord, bring your soldiers.
12 Wake up, you nations.
Come to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
13 Cut them down like grain.
The harvest is ripe.
Stomp on them as you would stomp on grapes.
The winepress is full.
The vats overflow.
The nations are very wicked.
14 There are many, many people in the valley of decision.
The day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon will turn dark.
The stars will no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion,
and his voice will thunder from Jerusalem.
The sky and the earth will shake.
The Lord will be a refuge for his people.
He will be a stronghold for the people of Israel.
17 “You will know that I am the Lord your God.
I live on my holy mountain, Zion.
Jerusalem will be holy.
Foreigners will never invade it again.
18 On that day new wine will cover the mountains.
Milk will flow on the hills.
Water will flow in all the brooks of Judah.
A spring will flow from the Lord’s temple.
It will water the valley of Shittim.
19 Egypt will become a wasteland.
Edom will become a barren desert.
This is because the nations were cruel to Judah.
They murdered innocent people in their land.
20 People will always live in Judah.
People will live in Jerusalem from now on.
21 I will punish those who murder.”
The Lord lives in Zion!
Footnotes
- 3:1 Joel 3:1–21 in English Bibles is Joel 4:1–21 in the Hebrew Bible.
- 3:2 Or “the valley where the LORD judges.”
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.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.