Joel 3

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

Look, in those days, when I restore freedom to Judah and Jerusalem, you'll see.

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.

I will gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will put them on trial for what they did to my people, my cherished Israel, whom they scattered among the nations while they divided up my land.

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.

They gambled with my people's fate, trading a young boy for a prostitute's company, and selling a girl just for a sip of wine.

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;

What do you have against me, Tyre, Sidon, and all of Palestine's shores? Are you trying to pay me back for something? If you do, I'll swiftly and speedily turn it back on your own heads.

Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

You've stolen my precious silver and gold, and placed my cherished treasures in your sacred places.

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.

You've heartlessly sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, just to take them far from their homeland.

Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

Watch, I will lift them from the place you've sold them, and the consequences of your actions will fall back on you.

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.

I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, who will then sell them to the distant Sabeans. The Lord has spoken.

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:

Tell everyone, even those far away: Get ready for battle! Stir up the strong, call all warriors to step forward and join the fight.

Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let those who feel weak proclaim, "I am strong."

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

Hurry and come, all you nations around, and gather there together. Bring down your mighty warriors, O LORD!

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.

Let the nations rouse themselves and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there, I will sit to judge all the nations around.

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.

Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow, so great is their wickedness.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

Crowds upon crowds fill the valley of decision, for God's day of reckoning draws near in the valley of decision.

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

The sun and moon will lose their glow, and the stars will no longer twinkle.

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.

From Zion, God will passionately call out, His voice echoing from Jerusalem, causing both heaven and earth to tremble. Yet, amidst the turmoil, God will remain the beacon of hope for His people, the unwavering strength for the children of Israel.

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.

You will realize that I, the LORD, reside in Zion, my sacred hill. Jerusalem will be pure, and no outsider will ever cross her again.

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.

On that special day, the mountains will overflow with fresh wine, the hills will stream with milk, and every river in Judah will be filled with water. A spring will burst forth from God's house, bringing life to the valley of Shittim.

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.

Egypt will be left in ruins, and Edom will become a barren wasteland, as punishment for their brutal acts against the people of Judah. Their land is stained with the blood of the innocent they've wronged.

But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

Judah will forever be home, and Jerusalem will stand, unbroken, through every age.

For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

I will purify the uncleaned blood, for God resides in Zion, filled with love and compassion.