Joel 2:18-3:21

New International Version

The Lord’s Answer

¹⁸Then the Lord was jealous^(A) for his land
and took pity^(B) on his people.

¹⁹The Lord replied^[a] to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine^(C) and olive oil,^(D)
enough to satisfy you fully;^(E)
never again will I make you
an object of scorn^(F) to the nations.

²⁰“I will drive the northern horde^(G) far from you,
    pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
    and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench^(H) will go up;
    its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!
²¹    Do not be afraid,^(I) land of Judah;
    be glad and rejoice.^(J)
Surely the Lord has done great things!^(K)
²²    Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
    for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.^(L)
The trees are bearing their fruit;
    the fig tree^(M) and the vine^(N) yield their riches.^(O)
²³Be glad, people of Zion,
    rejoice^(P) in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
    because he is faithful.^(Q)
He sends you abundant showers,^(R)
    both autumn^(S) and spring rains,^(T) as before.
²⁴The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
    the vats will overflow^(U) with new wine^(V) and oil.

²⁵“I will repay you for the years the locusts^(W) have eaten^(X)—
    the great locust and the young locust,
    the other locusts and the locust swarm^[b]—
my great army^(Y) that I sent among you.
²⁶You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,^(Z)
    and you will praise^(AA) the name of the Lord your God,
    who has worked wonders^(AB) for you;
never again will my people be shamed.^(AC)
²⁷Then you will know^(AD) that I am in Israel,
    that I am the Lord^(AE) your God,
    and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.^(AF)

The Day of the Lord

²⁸“And afterward,
    I will pour out my Spirit^(AG) on all people.^(AH)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,^(AI)
    your old men will dream dreams,^(AJ)
    your young men will see visions.
²⁹Even on my servants,^(AK) both men and women,
    I will pour out my Spirit in those days.^(AL)
³⁰I will show wonders in the heavens^(AM)
    and on the earth,^(AN)
    blood and fire and billows of smoke.
³¹The sun will be turned to darkness^(AO)
    and the moon to blood
    before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.^(AP)
³²And everyone who calls
    on the name of the Lord^(AQ) will be saved;^(AR)
for on Mount Zion^(AS) and in Jerusalem
    there will be deliverance,^(AT)
    as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors^(AU)
    whom the Lord calls.^[c]^(AV)

The Nations Judged

3 ^[d]“In those days and at that time,
    when I restore the fortunes^(AW) of Judah^(AX) and Jerusalem,
²I will gather^(AY) all nations
    and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.^[e]^(AZ)
There I will put them on trial^(BA)
    for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,
because they scattered^(BB) my people among the nations
    and divided up my land.
³They cast lots^(BC) for my people
    and traded boys for prostitutes;
    they sold girls for wine^(BD) to drink.

⁴“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon^(BE) and all you regions of Philistia?^(BF) Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.^(BG) ⁵For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.^[f]^(BH) ⁶You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,^(BI) that you might send them far from their homeland.

⁷“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,^(BJ) and I will return^(BK) on your own heads what you have done. ⁸I will sell your sons^(BL) and daughters to the people of Judah,^(BM) and they will sell them to the Sabeans,^(BN) a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.^(BO)

⁹Proclaim this among the nations:
    Prepare for war!^(BP)
Rouse the warriors!^(BQ)
    Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.
¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords
    and your pruning hooks^(BR) into spears.^(BS)
Let the weakling^(BT) say,
    “I am strong!”^(BU)
¹¹Come quickly, all you nations from every side,
    and assemble^(BV) there.

Bring down your warriors,^(BW) Lord!

¹²“Let the nations be roused;
    let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,^(BX)
for there I will sit
    to judge^(BY) all the nations on every side.
¹³Swing the sickle,^(BZ)
    for the harvest^(CA) is ripe.
Come, trample the grapes,^(CB)
    for the winepress^(CC) is full
    and the vats overflow—
so great is their wickedness!”

¹⁴Multitudes,^(CD) multitudes
    in the valley^(CE) of decision!
For the day of the Lord^(CF) is near
    in the valley of decision.^(CG)
¹⁵The sun and moon will be darkened,
    and the stars no longer shine.^(CH)
¹⁶The Lord will roar^(CI) from Zion
    and thunder from Jerusalem;^(CJ)
    the earth and the heavens will tremble.^(CK)
But the Lord will be a refuge^(CL) for his people,
    a stronghold^(CM) for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

¹⁷“Then you will know^(CN) that I, the Lord your God,^(CO)
dwell in Zion,^(CP) my holy hill.^(CQ)
Jerusalem will be holy;^(CR)
never again will foreigners invade her.^(CS)

¹⁸“In that day the mountains will drip new wine,^(CT)
    and the hills will flow with milk;^(CU)
    all the ravines of Judah will run with water.^(CV)
A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house^(CW)
    and will water the valley of acacias.^[g]^(CX)
¹⁹But Egypt^(CY) will be desolate,
    Edom^(CZ) a desert waste,
because of violence^(DA) done to the people of Judah,
    in whose land they shed innocent blood.
²⁰Judah will be inhabited forever^(DB)
    and Jerusalem through all generations.
²¹Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?^(DC)
    No, I will not.^(DD)”

The Lord dwells in Zion!^(DE)

Footnotes

Joel 2:19 Or Lord will be jealous … / and take pity … / ¹⁹The Lord will reply
Joel 2:25 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.
Joel 2:32 In Hebrew texts 2:28-32 is numbered 3:1-5.
Joel 3:1 In Hebrew texts 3:1-21 is numbered 4:1-21.
Joel 3:2 Jehoshaphat means the Lord judges; also in verse 12.
Joel 3:5 Or palaces
Joel 3:18 Or Valley of Shittim