Judgment of the Nations
1Yes, in those days and at that time,
when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, n
2 I will gather all the nations o
and take them to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. F,p
I will enter into judgment with them there q
because of my people, my inheritance Israel.
The nations have scattered the Israelites
in foreign countries r
and divided up my land. s
3 They cast lots for my people; t
they bartered a boy for a prostitute
and sold a girl for wine to drink. u
4 And also: Tyre, v Sidon, and all the territories of Philistia w—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. x 5 For you took my silver and gold and carried my finest treasures y to your temples. 6 You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks z to remove them far from their own territory. 7 Look, I am about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them; a I will bring retribution on your heads. 8 I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, b and they will sell them to the Sabeans, G,c to a distant nation, for the LORD has spoken.
9 Proclaim this among the nations: d
Prepare for holy war; e
rouse the warriors; f
let all the men of war advance and attack!
10 Beat your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears. g
Let even the weakling say, “I am a warrior.”
11 Come quickly, H all you surrounding nations;
gather yourselves. h
Bring down your warriors there, LORD. i
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations. j
because the harvest is ripe. k
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full; l
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is extreme. m
14 Multitudes, multitudes n
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near o
in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining. p
16 The LORD will roar from Zion q
and make his voice heard from Jerusalem; r
heaven and earth will shake. s
But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, t
a stronghold for the Israelites. u
Israel Blessed
17 Then you will know
that I am the LORD your God, v
who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. w
Jerusalem will be holy, x
and foreigners will never overrun it again. y
the mountains will drip with sweet wine, z
and the hills will flow with milk. a
All the streams of Judah will flow with water, b
and a spring will issue from the LORD’S house, c
watering the Valley of Acacias. I,d
19 Egypt will become desolate,
and Edom a desert wasteland,
because of the violence done to the people of Judah e
in whose land they shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be inhabited forever, f
and Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 I will pardon their bloodguilt, J,g
which I have not pardoned,
for the LORD dwells in Zion.