The LORD Judges the Nations 1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity,a 2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.b There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations 3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink. 4Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. 5For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples.c 6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,d to send them far from their homeland. 7Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads. 8I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” 9Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war 10Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’ 11Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, 12Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. 13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.e Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great. 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near 15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. 16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. Blessings for God’s People 17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners. 18And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.f 19Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. 20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.g” For the LORD dwells in Zion. Footnotes: 1 a Or restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem 2 b Jehoshaphat means the LORD judges ; also in verse 12. 5 c Or palaces 6 d Or to the peoples of Javan 13 e LXX the harvest has come ; see also Mark 4:29. 18 f Or Valley of Shittim 21 g Or For I will pardon their bloodguilt, which I have not yet pardoned. The Berean Bible (www.Berean.Bible) Berean Study Bible (BSB) © 2016, 2020 by Bible Hub and Berean.Bible. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Free downloads and licensing available. See also the Berean Literal Bible and Berean Interlinear Bible. OpenBible.com |