| Chapter 3 |
1 |
'For, behold, in those days, And in that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, --
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2 |
I will gather all nations, And will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will execute judgment on them there for my people, And for my heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. They have divided my land, --
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3 |
And have cast lots for my people, And have given a boy for a prostitute, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. --
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4 |
'Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, And all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head. --
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5 |
Because you have taken my silver and my gold, And have carried my finest treasures into your temples, --
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6 |
And have sold the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem to the sons of the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their border. --
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7 |
Behold, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, And will return your repayment on your own head; --
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8 |
And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, And they will sell them to the men of Sheba, To a faraway nation, For Yahweh has spoken it.' --
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9 |
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare war. Stir up the mighty men. Let all the warriors draw near. Let them come up. --
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10 |
Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, 'I am strong.' --
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11 |
Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves together.' Cause your mighty ones to come down there, Yahweh. --
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12 |
'Let the nations arouse themselves, And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; For there will I sit to judge all the surrounding nations. --
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13 |
Put in the sickle; For the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the winepress is full, The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.' --
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14 |
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision. --
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15 |
The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining.' --
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16 |
Yahweh will roar from Zion, And thunder from Jerusalem; And the heavens and the earth will shake; But Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, And a stronghold to the children of Israel. --
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17 |
'So you will know that I am Yahweh, your God, Dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem will be holy, And no strangers will pass through her any more. --
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18 |
It will happen in that day, That the mountains will drop down sweet wine, The hills will flow with milk, All the brooks of Judah will flow with waters; And a fountain will come forth from the house of Yahweh, And will water the valley of Shittim. --
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19 |
Egypt will be a desolation, And Edom will be a desolate wilderness, For the violence done to the children of Judah, Because they have shed innocent blood in their land. --
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20 |
But Judah will be inhabited forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. --
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21 |
I will cleanse their blood, That I have not cleansed: For Yahweh dwells in Zion.' --
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