| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, | 1 “At the time of those events,” says the LORD, “when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem, |
| 2I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. | 2I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, my special possession, for scattering my people among the nations, and for dividing up my land. |
| 3They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. | 3They threw dice to decide which of my people would be their slaves. They traded boys to obtain prostitutes and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk. |
| 4“Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; | 4“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. |
| 5Because you have taken My silver and My gold, And have carried into your temples My prized possessions. | 5You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. |
| 6Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders. | 6You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland. |
| 7“Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head. | 7“But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. |
| 8I will sell your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the people of Judah, And they will sell them to the Sabeans, To a people far off; For the LORD has spoken.” | 8I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the LORD, have spoken!” |
| 9Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. | 9Say to the nations far and wide: “Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. |
| 10Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” | 10Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. |
| 11Assemble and come, all you nations, And gather together all around. Cause Your mighty ones to go down there, O LORD. | 11Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” And now, O LORD, call out your warriors! |
| 12“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. | 12“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. |
| 13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow— For their wickedness is great.” | 13Swing 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.” |
| 14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. | 14Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the LORD will soon arrive. |
| 15The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. | 15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. |
| 16The 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. | 16The 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. Blessings for God’s People |
| 17“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.” | 17“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. |
| 18And it will come to pass in that day That the mountains shall drip with new wine, The hills shall flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD And water the Valley of Acacias. | 18In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. Water will fill the streambeds of Judah, and a fountain will burst forth from the LORD’s Temple, watering the arid valley of acacias. |
| 19“Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent blood in their land. | 19But Egypt will become a wasteland and Edom will become a wilderness, because they attacked the people of Judah and killed innocent people in their land. |
| 20But Judah shall abide forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. | 20“But Judah will be filled with people forever, and Jerusalem will endure through all generations. |
| 21For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the LORD dwells in Zion.” | 21I will pardon my people’s crimes, which I have not yet pardoned; and I, the LORD, will make my home in Jerusalem with my people.” |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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