Joel 3 - EasyEnglish Bible 2024（EASY）

Chapter 3God will punish Judah's enemies

1‘Listen! At that time, I will cause the people of Judah and Jerusalem to return.

They will have success again.

2Then I will bring all the nations together.

I will take them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will judge them.

I will punish them

because of what they did to my own people, Israel.

Those nations took my people away

to live among other nations.

They divided my land into parts for themselves.

3They threw dice to win my people for themselves.

They sold boys to pay for prostitutes.

They sold girls to buy wine to drink.

4What are you trying to do, you people of Tyre, Sidon and the regions of Philistia? Do you want to pay me back for something that I have done to you? If so, I myself will quickly pay you back with punishment.

5You took my silver and my gold. You took all my valuable things to put in your own temples.

6You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greek people. You sent them far away from their own country.

7But now I will cause my people to return home. I will bring them back from the places to which you sold them. Then I will do to you what you have done to them.

8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans, who live far away.

I, the Lord, have spoken.’

9Tell this news to the people of all nations:

‘Prepare to fight a war!

Command your soldiers to come together.

Tell them to march forward and attack!

10Take your ploughs

and make them into swords.

Take your knives that you use to cut your vines

and make them into spears.

Even weak people must fight like strong soldiers.

11Come quickly, you nations that are all around.

Meet together in the valley.’

Now Lord, send down your army to attack them!

12‘All the nations must prepare themselves.

They must march to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

That is where I will sit to judge the nations from all around.

13Bring your knives to cut down the crops!

They are ready to eat!

Stamp on the grapes!

The winepress is full of them!

There is too much wine for the jars to hold.

Yes, punish those nations

because they are very wicked!’

14Great crowds of people are in the Valley of Punishment.

It is there that the day of the Lord

will soon come.

15The sun and the moon become dark.

The stars stop shining.

16The Lord shouts from Zion.

His voice calls loudly from Jerusalem.

The sky and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a place where his people are safe.

He is a strong place for Israel's people.

God will keep his people safe

17The Lord says,

‘Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.

I live on Zion, my holy hill.

Jerusalem will be a holy place.

Foreign armies will never come into the city again.

18On that day, the vines on the mountains

will provide plenty of sweet wine.

The cows on the hills will provide plenty of milk.

All the streams in Judah will have plenty of water.

A spring of water will come from the Lord's temple.

It will bring water to the Valley of acacia trees.

19But Egypt will be an empty place.

Edom will become a wilderness.

They were cruel to the people of Judah.

They killed people there who did not deserve to die.

20Now Judah will for ever be a place where people can live safely.

Jerusalem will always be a safe city.

21But I will surely punish those who killed my people.

I have not forgiven them.

I, the Lord, live in Zion!’