Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
1“Yes, in those days and at that time, when I restore Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, | 1 “At the time of those events,” says the LORD, “when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, |
2I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning My people, My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations as they divided up My land. | 2I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. |
3They cast lots for My people; they bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink. | 3They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk. |
4Now what do you have against Me, O Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering against Me a recompense? If you retaliate against Me, I will swiftly and speedily return your recompense upon your heads. | 4“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. |
5For you took My silver and gold and carried off My finest treasures to your temples. | 5You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. |
6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, to send them far from their homeland. | 6You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland. |
7Behold, I will rouse them from the places to which you sold them; I will return your recompense upon your heads. | 7“But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. |
8I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.” Indeed, the LORD has spoken. | 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the LORD, have spoken!” |
9Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war; rouse the mighty men; let all the men of war advance and attack! | 9Say to the nations far and wide: “Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. |
10Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’ | 10Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. |
11Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD. | 11Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O LORD, call out your warriors! |
12Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. | 12“Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the LORD, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all. |
13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great. | 13Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread the grapes, for the winepress is full. The storage vats are overflowing with the wickedness of these people.” |
14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. | 14Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the LORD will soon arrive. |
15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. | 15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. |
16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. | 16The LORD’s voice will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a strong fortress for the people of Israel. Blessings for God’s People |
17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners. | 17“Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, live in Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy forever, and foreign armies will never conquer her again. |
18And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias. | 18In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Water will fill the streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the LORD’s Temple, watering the arid valley of acacias. |
19Egypt will become desolate, and Edom a desert wasteland, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood. | 19But Egypt will become a wasteland and Edom will become a wilderness, because they attacked the people of Judah and killed innocent people in their land. |
20But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. | 20“But Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. |
21For I will avenge their blood, which I have not yet avenged.” For the LORD dwells in Zion. | 21I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the LORD, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.” |
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