JOEL

Joel 3 ©

A prophecy of God’s judgment upon the enemies of His church, deriding their vain devices and preparations against the same, v. 1, etc. The everlasting happiness of the church and the destruction of the enemies, 18.

1

FOR,1 behold, in those days, and in that time, 2when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

2

I will also gather all 3nations, and will bring them down into the 4valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my 5heritage 6Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and 7parted 8my land.

3

And they have cast 9lots for my people; and have given a boy for an 10harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

4

Yea, and 11what have ye to do with me, O 12Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

5

Because ye have taken 13my silver and my gold, and have carried into your 14temples my 15goodly pleasant things:

6

The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the 16Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

7

Behold, I will 17raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

8

And I will 18sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the 19Sabeans, 20to a people far off: 21for the LORD hath spoken it.

9

22Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; 23Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:

10

24Beat your plowsharesa into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.

11

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: 25thither cause thy 26mighty ones to come down, O LORD.

12

Let 27the heathen be wakened, and come up to the 28valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I 29sit to judge all the heathen round about.

13

30Putb ye in the sickle, for the harvest is 31ripe: come, get you down; for the press is 32full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is 33great.

14

34Multitudes, multitudes in the 35valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is 36near in the valley of decision.

15

Thec37sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

16

The LORD also shall roar out of 38Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the 39hope of his people, and the strength of the 40children of Israel.

17

So shall 41ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in 42Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be 43holy, 44andd there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

18

¶And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 45mountains shall drop down newe wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a 46fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of 47Shittim.

19

48Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a 49desolate wilderness, 50for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land.

20

But Judah shall 51dwell for ever, and Jerusalem 52from generation to generation.

21

For I will cleanse their 53blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD 54dwelleth in Zion.