| 1 'For in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, |
| 2 I shall gather all the nations together and take them down to the Val ey of Jehoshaphat; there I shal putthem on trial because of Israel, my people and my heritage, for having scattered them among the nations andhaving divided my land among themselves. |
| 3 They drew lots for my people, bartering a boy for a whore and sel ing a girl for wine to drink. |
| 4 'And what are you to me, Tyre and Sidon and al you regions of Philistia? Can you take revenge on me?If you take revenge on me, I shal quickly, instantly, make your revenge recoil on your own heads |
| 5 for having taken my silver and gold away and carried off my valuable treasures to your temples, |
| 6 and for having sold the children of Judah and Jerusalem to the Ionians, to be taken far away from theirown frontiers. |
| 7 Look, I shal rouse them from the places to which you have sold them; I shall make your actions recoilon your own heads |
| 8 by sel ing your sons and daughters to the sons of Judah, who in turn wil sel them to the Sabaeans, to anation far away- Yahweh has spoken!' |
| 9 Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war! Rouse the champions! Al you troops, advance,march! |
| 10 Hammer your ploughshares into swords, your bil -hooks into spears; let the weakling say, 'I am tough!' |
| 11 Hurry and come, al the nations around, and assemble there! (Yahweh, send down your champions!) |
| 12 'Let the nations rouse themselves and march to the Val ey of Jehoshaphat, for there I shal sit injudgement on all the nations around. |
| 13 Ply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come and tread, for the winepress is full; the vats are overflowing,so great is their wickedness!' |
| 14 Multitude on multitude in the Valley of Decision! For the Day of Yahweh is near in the Val ey of theVerdict! |
| 15 Sun and moon grow dark, the stars lose their brilliance. |
| 16 Yahweh roars from Zion, he thunders from Jerusalem; heaven and earth tremble. But Yahweh wil be ashelter for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites. |
| 17 'Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God residing on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem wilthen be a sanctuary, no foreigners will overrun it ever again.' |
| 18 When that Day comes, the mountains will run with new wine and the hil s wil flow with milk, and al thestream-beds of Judah will run with water. A fountain wil spring from Yahweh's Temple and water the Gorge ofthe Acacias. |
| 19 Egypt wil become a desolation, and Edom a desert waste on account of the violence done to thechildren of Judah whose innocent blood they shed in their country. |
| 20 But Judah wil be inhabited for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation! |
| 21 'I shal avenge their blood and let none go unpunished,' and Yahweh wil dwell in Zion. |