God will Judge the Nations
1The LORD says,
“At that time I will restore
the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem.
2I will gather all the nations
and bring them to the Valley of Judgement.
There I will judge them
for all they have done to my people.
They have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries
and divided up Israel, my land.
3They threw dice to decide
who would get the captives.
They sold boys and girls into slavery
to pay for prostitutes and wine.
4“What are you trying to do to me, Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you trying to pay me back for something? If you are, I will quickly pay you back! 5You have taken my silver and gold and carried my rich treasures into your temples. 6You have taken the people of Judah and Jerusalem far from their own country and sold them to the Greeks. 7Now I am going to bring them out of the places to which you have sold them. I will do to you what you have done to them. 8I will let your sons and daughters be sold to the people of Judah; they will sell them to the far-off Sabeans. I, the LORD, have spoken.
9“Make this announcement among the nations:
‘Prepare for war;
call your warriors;
gather all your soldiers and march!
10Hammer the points of your ploughs into swords
and your pruning knives into spears.
Even the weak must fight.
11Hurry and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather in the valley.’ ”
Send down, O LORD, your army to attack them.
12“The nations must get ready
and come to the Valley of Judgement.
There I, the LORD, will sit to judge
all the surrounding nations.
13They are very wicked;
cut them down like corn
at harvest time;
crush them as grapes are crushed
in a full winepress
until the wine runs over.”
14Thousands and thousands
are in the Valley of Judgement.
It is there that the day of the LORD
will soon come.
15The sun and the moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
God will Bless his People
16The LORD roars from Mount Zion;
his voice thunders from Jerusalem;
earth and sky tremble.
But he will defend his people.
17“Then, Israel, you will know that I am the LORD your God.
I live on Zion, my sacred hill.
Jerusalem will be a sacred city;
foreigners will never conquer it again.
18“At that time the mountains will be covered with vineyards,
and cattle will be found on every hill;
there will be plenty of water for all the streams of Judah.
A stream will flow from the Temple of the LORD,
and it will water the Valley of Acacia.
19“Egypt will become a desert,
and Edom a ruined waste,
because they attacked the land of Judah
and killed its innocent people.
20-21I will avenge those who were killed;
I will not spare the guilty.
But Judah and Jerusalem will be inhabited for ever,
and I, the LORD, will live on Mount Zion.”
