요엘 4

The nations judged in the valley of Jehoshaphat

¹For in those days and at that time, \q when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,^{a 2}I will gather all the nations \q and bring them down \q into the valley of Jehoshaphat. \q There I will bring them to judgment on behalf of my people, my inheritance Israel, whom they scattered among the nations, \q and because they divided up my land.^{b 3}They cast lots for my people. \q They traded boys for prostitutes \q and sold girls for wine to drink. ⁴What are you to me, Tyre and Sidon \q and all you regions of Philistia? \q Are you paying me back for something? \q If you are paying me back, \q swiftly and speedily \q I will turn your deeds back on your own heads. ⁵You took my silver and my gold, \q and carried off my finest treasures \q into your temples. ⁶You sold the people of Judah and of Jerusalem to the Greeks, \q to send them far away from their own land. ⁷But now I am stirring them up \q to leave the place \q where you sold them, \q and I will turn your deeds back on your own heads. ⁸I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, \q who will sell them to the Sabeans, a distant nation. \q The LORD has spoken.

A call to the nations to prepare for war

⁹Announce this among the nations: \q Prepare for holy war! \q Rouse the warriors! \q Let them come forward and march up, \q all the fighting men. ¹⁰Hammer your plow blades into swords \q and your knives for pruning into spears. \q Let the weakling say, \q “I am a warrior!” ¹¹Come quickly, all you nations on every side, and gather together! \q Bring down your warriors there, LORD!^{c 12}Let the nations stir themselves and come up \q to the valley of Jehoshaphat, \q for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. ¹³Swing the sickle, \q for the harvest is ripe. \q Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. \q The vats overflow, \q because their wickedness is great. ¹⁴Crowds upon crowds \q in the valley of decision! \q Yes, the day of the LORD is close at hand \q in the valley of decision.^{d 15}The sun and moon go dark, \q and the stars lose their brightness. ¹⁶The LORD roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem, \q and the heavens and the earth tremble. \q But the LORD is a refuge for his people, \q a fortress for the people of Israel. ¹⁷Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, \q living in Zion, my holy mountain. \q Jerusalem will be holy, \q and foreigners will never again march through it.

Streams in Judah, and the LORD dwells in Zion

¹⁸On that day the mountains will drip sweet wine, and milk will flow from the hills; \q all the streambeds of Judah will run with water. \q A spring will flow out from the house of the LORD \q and water the valley of Shittim.^{e 19}Egypt will be laid waste, \q and Edom \q will become a desolate wilderness, \q because of the violence done to the people of Judah, \q whose innocent blood they shed in their land. ²⁰But Judah will be inhabited forever, \q and Jerusalem for all generations. ²¹I will avenge their blood, which I had left unavenged. \q The LORD dwells in Zion.^f