Joel 3

HCSB

Joel 3

Judgment of the Nations

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^(a)Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,^(A)

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I will gather all the nations^(B)
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.^(b)^(C)
I will enter into judgment with them there^(D)
because of My people, My inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries^(E)
and divided up My land.^(F)

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They cast lots for My people;^(G)
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink.^(H)

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4} And also: Tyre,^(I) Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia^(J)—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.^(K) ^{Tools
5} For you took My silver and gold and carried My finest treasures^(L) to your temples. ^{Tools
6} You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks^(M) to remove them far from their own territory. ^{Tools
7} Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them;^(N) I will bring retribution on your heads. ^{Tools
8} I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,^(O) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,^(c)^(P) to a distant nation, for the Lord has spoken.

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Proclaim this among the nations:^(Q)
Prepare for holy war;^(R)
rouse the warriors;^(S)
let all the men of war advance and attack!

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Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.^(T)
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”

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Come quickly,^(d) all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves.^(U)
Bring down Your warriors there, Lord.^(V)

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Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.^(W)

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Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.^(X)
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;^(Y)
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is great.^(Z)

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Multitudes, multitudes^(AA)
in the valley of decision!
For the Day of the Lord is near^(AB)
in the valley of decision.

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The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.^(AC)

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The Lord will roar from Zion^(AD)
and raise His voice from Jerusalem;^(AE)
heaven and earth will shake.^(AF)
But the Lord will be a refuge for His people,^(AG)
a stronghold for the Israelites.^(AH)

Israel Blessed

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Then you will know
that I am Yahweh your God,^(AI)
who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain.^(AJ)
Jerusalem will be holy,^(AK)
and foreigners will never overrun it again.^(AL)

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In that day
the mountains will drip with sweet wine,^(AM)
and the hills will flow with milk.^(AN)
All the streams of Judah will flow with water,^(AO)
and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house,^(AP)
watering the Valley of Acacias.^(e)^(AQ)

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Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah^(AR)
in whose land they shed innocent blood.

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But Judah will be inhabited forever,^(AS)
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

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I will pardon their bloodguilt,^(f)^(AT)
which I have not pardoned,
for the Lord dwells in Zion.

Footnotes:

a. Joel 3:1: Jl 4:1 in Hb

b. Joel 3:2: The Lord Will Judge

c. Joel 3:8: Probably the south Arabian kingdom of Sheba (modern Yemen)

d. Joel 3:11: LXX, Syr, Tg read Gather yourselves and come; Hb obscure

e. Joel 3:18: Or Shittim

f. Joel 3:21: LXX, Syr read I will avenge their blood

Cross references:

A. Joel 3:1: Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:7; Jeremiah 33:11; Ezekiel 39:25

B. Joel 3:2: Isaiah 66:18

C. Joel 3:2: Joel 3:12; Joel 3:14

D. Joel 3:2: Isaiah 66:16; Jeremiah 25:31

E. Joel 3:2: Jeremiah 50:17; Ezekiel 34:6

F. Joel 3:2: Ezekiel 35:10; Ezekiel 36:1-5

G. Joel 3:3: Obadiah 1:11; Nahum 3:10

H. Joel 3:3: Amos 2:6

I. Joel 3:4: Amos 1:9

J. Joel 3:4: Amos 1:6-8

K. Joel 3:4: Psalm 28:4

L. Joel 3:5: 2 Chronicles 36:19

M. Joel 3:6: Isaiah 66:19; Ezekiel 27:13

N. Joel 3:7: Zechariah 9:13

O. Joel 3:8: Isaiah 14:2; Isaiah 60:14

P. Joel 3:8: Job 1:15; Psalm 72:10; Ezekiel 38:13

Q. Joel 3:9: Jeremiah 51:27-28

R. Joel 3:9: Jeremiah 6:4

S. Joel 3:9: Isaiah 8:9-10; Jeremiah 46:3-4

T. Joel 3:10: Isaiah 2:4

U. Joel 3:11: Ezekiel 38:15-16

V. Joel 3:11: Isaiah 13:3

W. Joel 3:12: Psalm 7:6; Psalm 98:9; Isaiah 3:13

X. Joel 3:13: Jeremiah 51:33

Y. Joel 3:13: Isaiah 63:3

Z. Joel 3:13: Genesis 18:20

AA. Joel 3:14: Isaiah 34:2-8

AB. Joel 3:14: Joel 1:15; Joel 2:1; Joel 2:11

AC. Joel 3:15: Joel 2:10; Joel 2:31

AD. Joel 3:16: Amos 1:2

AE. Joel 3:16: Jeremiah 25:30; Amos 1:2

AF. Joel 3:16: Ezekiel 38:19; Joel 2:10; Haggai 2:6

AG. Joel 3:16: Psalm 46:1; Psalm 62:8; Proverbs 14:26

AH. Joel 3:16: Jeremiah 16:19; Nahum 1:7

AI. Joel 3:17: Exodus 6:7; Exodus 29:46; Ezekiel 20:20

AJ. Joel 3:17: Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 56:7; Ezekiel 20:40

AK. Joel 3:17: Isaiah 4:3; Obadiah 1:17

AL. Joel 3:17: Isaiah 52:1; Nahum 1:15

AM. Joel 3:18: Amos 9:13

AN. Joel 3:18: Exodus 3:8

AO. Joel 3:18: Isaiah 30:25; Isaiah 35:6

AP. Joel 3:18: Ezekiel 47:1-12

AQ. Joel 3:18: Numbers 25:1; Ezekiel 47:8

AR. Joel 3:19: Obadiah 1:10

AS. Joel 3:20: Ezekiel 37:25; Amos 9:15

AT. Joel 3:21: Isaiah 4:4