Joel 2:18-32
The Lord Answers the Prayer of His People
Then the Lord was concerned for his land.
He took pity on his people.
He replied,
“I am sending you grain, olive oil and fresh wine.
It will be enough to satisfy you completely.
I will never allow other nations
to make fun of you again.
“I will drive far away from you
the army that comes from the north.
I will send some of its forces
into a dry and empty land.
Its eastern troops will drown in the Dead Sea.
Its western troops will drown in the Mediterranean Sea.
Their dead bodies will stink.”
The Lord has done great things.
Land of Judah, don’t be afraid.
Be glad and full of joy.
The Lord has done great things.
Wild animals, don’t be afraid.
The desert grasslands are turning green again.
The trees are bearing their fruit.
The vines and fig trees are producing rich crops.
People of Zion, be glad.
Be joyful because of what the Lord your God has done.
He has given you the right amount of rain in the fall.
That’s because he is faithful.
He has sent you plenty of showers.
He has sent fall and spring rains alike,
just as he did before.
Your threshing floors will be covered with grain.
Olive oil and fresh wine will spill over
from the places where they are stored.
The Lord says,
“I sent a great army of locusts to attack you.
They included common locusts, giant locusts,
young locusts and other locusts.
I will make up for the years
they ate your crops.
You will have plenty to eat.
It will satisfy you completely.
Then you will praise me.
I am the Lord your God.
I have done wonderful things for you.
My people will never again be put to shame.
You will know that I am with you in Israel.
I am the Lord your God.
There is no other God.
So my people will never again be put to shame.
The Day of the Lord Is Coming
“After that, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will have dreams.
Your young men will have visions.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
on those who serve me, men and women alike.
I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth.
There will be blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
The sun will become dark.
The moon will turn red like blood.
It will happen before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
Everyone who calls out to me will be saved.
On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
some of my people will be left alive.
I have chosen them.
That is what I have promised.
Joel 3:1-21
The Lord Judges the Nations
“At that time I will bless Judah and Jerusalem
with great success again.
I will gather together all the nations.
I will bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will put them on trial.
I will judge them for what they have done
to my people Israel.
They scattered them among the nations.
They divided up my land among themselves.
They cast lots for my people.
They sold boys into slavery to get prostitutes.
They sold girls to buy some wine to drink.
“Tyre and Sidon, why are you doing things like that to me? And why are you doing them, all you people in Philistia? Are you trying to get even with me for something I have done? If you are, I will pay you back for it in a quick and speedy way. You took my silver and gold. You carried off my finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. You wanted to send them far away from their own country.
“But now I will stir them up into action. I will bring them back from the places you sold them to. And I will do to you what you did to them. I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans. The Sabeans are a nation that is far away.” The Lord has spoken.
Announce this among the nations.
Tell them to prepare for battle.
Nations, get your soldiers ready!
Bring all your fighting men together
and march out to attack.
Hammer your plows into swords.
Hammer your pruning tools into spears.
Let anyone who is weak say,
“I am strong!”
Come quickly, all you surrounding nations.
Gather together in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.
Lord, send down your soldiers from heaven!
The Lord says,
“Stir up the nations into action!
Let them march into the valley
where I will judge them.
I will take my seat in court.
I will judge all the surrounding nations.
My soldiers, swing your blades.
The nations are ripe for harvest.
Come and stomp on them as if they were grapes.
Crush them until the winepress of my anger is full.
Do it until the wine spills over
from the places where it is stored.
The nations have committed far too many sins!”
Huge numbers of soldiers are gathered in the valley
where the Lord will hand down his sentence.
The day of the Lord is near in that valley.
The sun and moon will become dark.
The stars won’t shine anymore.
The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem.
His voice will sound like thunder from Zion.
The earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will keep the people of Israel safe.
He will be a place of safety for them.
The Lord Blesses His People
The Lord says,
“You will know that I am the Lord your God.
I live in Zion.
It is my holy mountain.
Jerusalem will be my holy city.
People from other lands
will never again attack it.
“At that time fresh wine will drip from the mountains.
Milk will flow down from the hills.
Water will run through all Judah’s valleys.
A fountain will flow out of my temple.
It will water the places where acacia trees grow.
But Egypt will be deserted.
Edom will become a dry and empty desert.
They did terrible harm to the people of Judah.
My people were not guilty of doing anything wrong.
But Egypt and Edom spilled their blood anyway.
My people will live in Judah and Jerusalem forever.
The land will be their home for all time to come.
Egypt and Edom have spilled my people’s blood.
Should I let them escape my judgment?
No, I will not.”
The Lord lives in Zion!
