Joel 3 :: New International Version (NIV)

The Nations Judged

Joe 3:1“In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

Joe 3:2I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[fn] There I will put them on trial for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel, because they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.

Joe 3:3

Joe 3:3They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine to drink.

Joe 3:4

Joe 3:4“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon and all you regions of Philistia? 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.

Joe 3:5

Joe 3:5For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.[fn]

Joe 3:6

Joe 3:6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, that you might send them far from their homeland.

Joe 3:7

Joe 3:7“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, and I will return on your own heads what you have done.

Joe 3:8

Joe 3:8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.” The LORD has spoken.

Joe 3:9

Joe 3:9Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

Joe 3:10

Joe 3:10Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!”

Joe 3:11

Joe 3:11Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, LORD!

Joe 3:12

Joe 3:12“Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.

Joe 3:13

Joe 3:13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!”

Joe 3:14

Joe 3:14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

Joe 3:15

Joe 3:15The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

Joe 3:16

Joe 3:16The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

Joe 3:17

Joe 3:17“Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

Joe 3:18

Joe 3:18“In that day the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk; all the ravines of Judah will run with water. A fountain will flow out of the LORD’s house and will water the valley of acacias.[fn]

Joe 3:19

Joe 3:19But Egypt will be desolate, Edom a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.

Joe 3:20

Joe 3:20Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem through all generations.

Joe 3:21

Joe 3:21Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? No, I will not.” The LORD dwells in Zion!