Joel 3:9-17

Joel 3:9-17 The Message (MSG)

Announce this to the godless nations: Prepare for battle! Soldiers at attention! Present arms! Advance! Turn your shovels into swords, turn your hoes into spears. Let the weak one throw out his chest and say, “I’m tough, I’m a fighter.” Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on! Get your act together. Prepare to be shattered by GOD! Let the pagan nations set out for Judgment Valley. There I’ll take my place at the bench and judge all the surrounding nations. “Swing the sickle— the harvest is ready. Stomp on the grapes— the winepress is full. The wine vats are full, overflowing with vintage evil. “Mass confusion, mob uproar— in Decision Valley! GOD’s Judgment Day has arrived in Decision Valley. “The sky turns black, sun and moon go dark, stars burn out. GOD roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem. Earth and sky quake in terror. But GOD is a safe hiding place, a granite safe house for the children of Israel. Then you’ll know for sure that I’m your GOD, Living in Zion, my sacred mountain. Jerusalem will be a sacred city, posted: ‘NO TRESPASSING.’

Joel 3:9-17 King James Version (KJV)

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Joel 3:9-17 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The LORD roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass through it no more.

Joel 3:9-17 New Century Version (NCV)

Announce this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake up the soldiers! Let all the men of war come near and attack. Make swords from your plows, and make spears from your hooks for trimming trees. Let even the weak person say, “I am a soldier.” All of you nations, hurry, and come together in that place. LORD, send your soldiers to gather the nations. “Wake up, nations, and come to attack in the Valley Where the LORD Judges. There I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the cutting tool, because the harvest is ripe. Come, walk on them as you would walk on grapes to get their juice, because the winepress is full and the barrels are spilling over, because these people are so evil!” There are huge numbers of people in the Valley of Decision, because the LORD’s day of judging is near in the Valley of Decision. The sun and the moon will become dark, and the stars will stop shining. The LORD will roar like a lion from Jerusalem; his loud voice will thunder from that city, and the sky and the earth will shake. But the LORD will be a safe place for his people, a strong place of safety for the people of Israel. “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, live on my holy Mount Zion. Jerusalem will be a holy place, and strangers will never even go through it again.

Joel 3:9-17 American Standard Version (ASV)

Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! for the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. And Jehovah will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but Jehovah will be a refuge unto his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

Joel 3:9-17 New International Version (NIV)

Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, “I am strong!” Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and assemble there. Bring down your warriors, LORD! “Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow— so great is their wickedness!” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the heavens will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

Joel 3:9-17 New King James Version (NKJV)

Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow— For their wickedness is great.” Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel. “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”

Joel 3:9-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¶Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations: Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men! Let all the men of war come near, let them come up! Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, “I am strong!” [Is 2:4; Mic 4:3] Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there; Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones (Your warriors). Let the nations be stirred [to action] And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge and punish All the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle [of judgment], for the harvest is ripe; Come, tread [the grapes], for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for the wickedness [of the people] is great. [Mark 4:29; Rev 14:15, 18-20] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed]. [Zech 14:1-9] The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. The LORD thunders and roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem [in judgment of His enemies], And the heavens and the earth tremble and shudder; But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold [of protection] to the children of Israel. [Amos 9:11-15; Mic 4:1-3; 5:2; Zeph 3:13-20; Zech 6:12, 13; 12:8, 9] Then you will know and understand fully that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers [who do not belong] will no longer pass through it.

Joel 3:9-17 New Living Translation (NLT)

Say to the nations far and wide: “Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O LORD, call out your warriors! “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. Swing 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.” Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the LORD will soon arrive. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. The 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. “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.

Joel 3:9-17 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Proclaim this among the nations: Consecrate for war; stir up the mighty men. Let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, “I am a warrior.” Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves there. Bring down your warriors, O LORD. Let the nations stir themselves up and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great. Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. “So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall never again pass through it.