[1] “Yes, at that time, I will bring back the people of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity.
[2] I will also gather all the nations together. I will bring all these nations down into Jehoshaphat Valley. There I will judge them. Those nations scattered my people, Israel. They forced them to live in other nations. So I will punish those nations. Those nations divided up my land.
[3] They threw lots for my people. They sold a boy to buy a prostitute. And they sold a girl to buy wine to drink. They even ...
[4] “Tyre! Sidon! All of you areas of Philistia! You are not important to me! Are you punishing me for something I did? You might think that you are punishing me, but I will soon punish you.
[5] You took my silver and gold. You took my precious treasures and put it in your temples.
[6] “You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. That way, you could take them far from their land.
[7] You sent my people to that faraway place. But I will bring them back. And I will punish you for what you did.
[8] I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. Then they will sell them to the faraway Sabean people.” The Lord said those things.
[9] Announce this among the nations: Prepare for war! Wake up the strong men! Let all the men of war come near. Let them come up!
[10] Beat your plows into swords. Make spears from your pruning hooks. Let the weak man say, ”I am a strong soldier.”
[11] All of you nations, hurry! Come together in that place! Lord, bring your strong soldiers!
[12] Wake up, nations! Come to Jehoshaphat Valley! There I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
[13] Bring the sickle, because the harvest is ripe. Come, walk on ˻the grapes,˼ because the winepress is full. The barrels will be full and spilling over, because their evil is great.
[14] There are many, many people in the Valley of Decision. The Lord’s special day is near in the Valley of Decision.
[15] The sun and the moon will become dark. The stars will stop shining.
[16] The Lord God will shout from Zion, He will shout from Jerusalem, and the sky and the earth will shake. But the Lord God will be a safe place for his people. He will be a place of safety for the people of Israel.
[17] “Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, I live on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will become holy. Strangers will never pass through that city again.”
[18] “On that day, the mountains will drip with sweet wine. The hills will flow with milk. And water will flow through all the empty rivers of Judah. A fountain will come from the Lord’s temple. It will give water to Acacia Valley.
[19] Egypt will be empty. Edom will be an empty wilderness. Why? Because they were cruel to the people of Judah. They killed innocent people in their country.
[20] But there will always be people living in Judah, People will live in Jerusalem through many generations.
[21] Those people killed my people. So I really will punish them!” The Lord God will live in Zion!