1 For beholde, in those dayes and in that time, when I shall bring againe the captiuitie of Iudah and Ierusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and wil bring them downe into the valley of Iehoshaphat, and will pleade with them there for my people, and for mine heritage Israel, whom they haue scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they haue cast lottes for my people, and haue giuen the childe for the harlot, and sold the girle for wine, that they might drinke. 4 Yea, and what haue you to do with me, O Tyrus and Zidon and all the costes of Palestina? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompence mee, swiftly and speedily will I render your recompence vpon your head: 5 For ye haue taken my siluer and my golde, and haue caried into your temples my goodly and pleasant things. 6 The children also of Iudah and the children of Ierusalem haue you solde vnto the Grecians, that ye might send them farre from their border. 7 Beholde, I will rayse them out of the place where ye haue sold them, and will render your reward vpon your owne head, 8 And I will send your sonnes and your daughters into the hande of the children of Iudah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people farre off: for the Lord hath spoken it. 9 Publish this among the Gentiles: prepare warre, wake vp the mightie men: let all the men of warre drawe neere and come vp. 10 Breake your plowshares into swords, and your sithes into speares: let the weake say, I am strong. 11 Assemble your selues, and come all yee heathen and gather your selues together round about: there shall the Lord cast downe the mightie men. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come vp to the valley of Iehoshaphat: for there will I sit to iudge all the heathen round about. 13 Put in your sithes, for the haruest is ripe: come, get you downe, for the winepresse is full: yea, the winepresses runne ouer, for their wickednesse is great. 14 O multitude, O multitude, come into the valley of threshing: for the day of the Lord is neere in the valley of threshing. 15 The sunne and moone shalbe darkened, and the starres shall withdrawe their light. 16 The Lord also shall roare out of Zion, and vtter his voyce from Ierusalem, and the heauens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord wil be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, mine holy Mountaine: then shall Ierusalem bee holy, and there shall no strangers go thorowe her any more. 18 And in that day shall the mountaines drop downe newe wine, and the hilles shall flowe with milke, and al the riuers of Iudah shall runne with waters, and a fountaine shall come forth of the House of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shalbe waste, and Edom shall be a desolate wildernesse, for the iniuries of the childre of Iudah, because they haue shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Iudah shall dwell for euer, and Ierusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will clense their blood, that I haue not clensed, and the Lord will dwell in Zion.
God Will Judge the Nations
1 The Lord says,
“At that time I will restore
the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem.
2 I will gather all the nations
and bring them to the Valley of Judgment.
There I will judge them
for all they have done to my people.
They have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries
and divided Israel, my land.
3 They threw dice to decide
who would get the captives.
They sold boys and girls into slavery
to pay for prostitutes and wine.
4 “What are you trying to do to me, Tyre, Sidon, and all of Philistia? Are you trying to pay me back for something? If you are, I will quickly pay you back! 5 You have taken my silver and gold and carried my rich treasures into your temples. 6 You have taken the people of Judah and Jerusalem far from their own country and sold them to the Greeks. 7 Now I am going to bring them out of the places to which you have sold them. I will do to you what you have done to them. 8 I will let your sons and daughters be sold to the people of Judah; they will sell them to the far-off Sabeans. I, the Lord, have spoken.
9 “Make this announcement among the nations:
‘Prepare for war;
call your warriors;
gather all your soldiers and march!
10 Hammer the points of your plows into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.
Even the weak must fight.
11 Hurry and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather in the valley.’”
Send down, O Lord, your army to attack them!
12 “The nations must get ready
and come to the Valley of Judgment.
There I, the Lord, will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13 They are very wicked;
cut them down like grain
at harvest time;
crush them as grapes are crushed
in a full wine press
until the wine runs over.”
14 Thousands and thousands
are in the Valley of Judgment.
It is there that the day of the Lord
will soon come.
15 The sun and the moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
God Will Bless His People
16 The Lord roars from Mount Zion;
his voice thunders from Jerusalem;
earth and sky tremble.
But he will defend his people.
17 “Then, Israel, you will know that I am the Lord your God.
I live on Zion, my sacred hill.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city;
foreigners will never conquer it again.
18 At that time the mountains will be covered with vineyards,
and cattle will be found on every hill;
there will be plenty of water for all of Judah.
A stream will flow from the Temple of the Lord,
and it will water Acacia Valley.
19 “Egypt will become a desert,
and Edom a ruined waste,
because they attacked the land of Judah
and killed its innocent people.
20-21 I will avenge those who were killed;
I will not spare the guilty.
But Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited forever,
and I, the Lord, will live on Mount Zion.”