Home Prior Books Index
←Prev   Joel 3 as rendered by/in  Next→ 

Did you notice?
 You can SEARCH IslamAwakened: 

3:1  “[L For look/T behold] In those days and at that time, when I will ·make things better for [restore the fortunes of; or return the exiles/captives of] Judah and Jerusalem,
3:2  I will gather all the nations together and bring them down into the Valley ·Where the Lord Judges [L of Jehoshaphat; C Jehoshaphat means “the Lord judges”]. There I will ·judge [enter into judgment against] them, because those nations scattered my ·own people [L people, my heritage] Israel ·and forced them to live in other [L among the] nations. They divided up my land
3:3  and ·threw [T cast] lots for my people. They traded boys for prostitutes, and they sold girls to buy wine to ·drink [get drunk].
3:4  “Tyre and Sidon and all of you regions of Philistia! What did you have against me? Were you ·punishing me [paying me back; taking vengeance] for something I did, ·or were you doing something to hurt me? [or If you were trying to pay me back,] I will very quickly ·do to you [L return on your heads] what you have done to me.
3:5  You took my silver and gold, and you put my ·precious [costly; rich; prized] treasures in your ·temples [or palaces].
3:6  You sold the ·people [sons; descendants] of Judah and Jerusalem to the [L sons/descendants of the] Greeks so that you could ·send [remove] them far from their ·land [L border].
3:7  “[L Look; T Behold] You sent my people to that faraway place, but I will ·get them [rouse them; stir them up] and bring them back, and I will ·do to you [L return on your heads] what you have done to them.
3:8  I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabean people [C Arab merchants from the southeast; Job 1:15] far away.” The Lord said this.
3:9  ·Announce [Proclaim] this among the nations: Prepare for war! ·Wake up [Rouse; Call out] the ·soldiers [warriors; mighty men]! Let all the men of war come near and attack.
3:10  ·Make swords from your plows [T Beat your plowshares into swords], and make spears from your ·hooks for trimming trees [pruning hooks; C the opposite of Is. 2:4]. Let even the weak person say, “I am ·a soldier [a warrior; or strong].”
3:11  All of you nations, hurry, and ·come together [assemble] in that place. Lord, ·send your soldiers to gather the nations [L bring down your warriors].
3:12  “·Wake up, nations [or Let the nations be roused], and come ·to attack in [up to] the Valley ·Where the Lord Judges [L of Jehoshaphat; v. 2]. There I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.
3:13  Swing the ·cutting tool [sickle], because the harvest is ripe. Come, ·walk on them as you would walk on grapes to get their juice [L trample the grapes], because the winepress is full and the ·barrels [vats] are ·spilling over [overflowing], because ·these people are so evil [their wickedness/evil is great]!”
3:14  ·There are huge numbers of people [L Multitudes, multitudes] in the Valley of Decision [C the place of the Lord’s verdict against the nations; vv. 2, 12], because the ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord; 1:15] is near in the Valley of Decision.
3:15  The sun and the moon will become dark, and the stars will ·stop shining [L withhold their brightness; 2:10].
3:16  The Lord ·will roar like a lion from Jerusalem [L roars from Zion]; his loud voice will thunder from ·that city [L Jerusalem], and the ·sky [heavens] and the earth will shake. But the Lord will be a ·safe place [refuge] for his people, a ·strong place of safety [stronghold] for the ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel.
3:17  “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God, live on my holy Mount Zion. Jerusalem will be a holy place, and ·strangers [foreigners] will never even go through it again [C as invaders].
3:18  “On that day ·wine [sweet/new wine] will drip from the mountains, milk will flow from the hills [C symbols of bounty and prosperity], and water will run through all the ·ravines [streambeds] of Judah. A fountain will flow from the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord and give water to the valley of ·acacia trees [L Shittim; C perhaps a proper name; Num. 25:1].
3:19  But Egypt will ·become empty [be desolate], and Edom an ·empty desert [deserted wilderness], because ·they were cruel [of their violence] to the ·people [L sons; descendants] of Judah. They ·killed innocent people [L shed innocent blood] in that land.
3:20  But ·there will always be people living in Judah [Judah will be inhabited forever], and ·people will live in Jerusalem from now on [L Jerusalem from generation to generation].
3:21  ·Egypt and Edom killed my people, so I will definitely punish them [L I will avenge/punish their blood, which I have not yet avenged/punished].” The Lord ·lives [dwells] in Jerusalem!