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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - San Castore di Tarso ( Letture di oggi)

Joel 4


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1'For in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,2I 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.3They 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 heads5for having taken my silver and gold away and carried off my valuable treasures to your temples,6and for having sold the children of Judah and Jerusalem to the Ionians, to be taken far away from theirown frontiers.7Look, I shal rouse them from the places to which you have sold them; I shall make your actions recoilon your own heads8by 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!'9Proclaim this among the nations. Prepare for war! Rouse the champions! Al you troops, advance,march!10Hammer your ploughshares into swords, your bil -hooks into spears; let the weakling say, 'I am tough!'11Hurry 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.13Ply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come and tread, for the winepress is full; the vats are overflowing,so great is their wickedness!'14Multitude on multitude in the Valley of Decision! For the Day of Yahweh is near in the Val ey of theVerdict!15Sun and moon grow dark, the stars lose their brilliance.16Yahweh 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.'18When 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.19Egypt 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.20But 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.