A Call to Repentance

12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,

u“Turn to Me with all your heart,

With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”

13 So vrend your heart, and not wyour garments;

Return to the Lord your God,

For He is xgracious and merciful,

Slow to anger, and of great kindness;

And He relents from doing harm.

14 yWho knows if He will turn and relent,

And leave za blessing behind Him—

aA grain offering and a drink offering

For the Lord your God?

15 bBlow the 6trumpet in Zion,

cConsecrate a fast,

Call a sacred assembly;

16 Gather the people,

dSanctify the congregation,

Assemble the elders,

Gather the children and nursing babes;

eLet the bridegroom go out from his chamber,

And the bride from her dressing room.

17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,

Weep fbetween the porch and the altar;

Let them say, g“Spare Your people, O Lord,

And do not give Your heritage to reproach,

That the nations should 7rule over them.

hWhy should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

The Land Refreshed

18 Then the Lord will ibe zealous for His land,

And pity His people.

19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,

“Behold, I will send you jgrain and new wine and oil,

And you will be satisfied by them;

I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

20 “But kI will remove far from you lthe northern army,

And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,

With his face toward the eastern sea

And his back mtoward the western sea;

His stench will come up,

And his foul odor will rise,

Because he has done 8monstrous things.”

21 Fear not, O land;

Be glad and rejoice,

For the Lord has done 9marvelous things!

22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;

For nthe open pastures are springing up,

And the tree bears its fruit;

The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.

23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,

And orejoice in the Lord your God;

For He has given you the 1former rain faithfully,

And He pwill cause the rain to come down for you—

The former rain,

And the latter rain in the first month.

24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,

And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

25 “So I will restore to you the years qthat the swarming 2locust has eaten,

The crawling locust,

The consuming locust,

And the chewing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.

26 You shall reat in plenty and be satisfied,

And praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who has dealt wondrously with you;

And My people shall never be put to sshame.

27 Then you shall know that I am tin the midst of Israel:

uI am the Lord your God

And there is no other.

My people shall never be put to shame.

God’s Spirit Poured Out

28 “And vit shall come to pass afterward

That wI will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;

xYour sons and your ydaughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions.

29 And also on My zmenservants and on My maidservants

I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

30 “And aI will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:

Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

31 bThe sun shall be turned into darkness,

And the moon into blood,

cBefore the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

32 And it shall come to pass

That dwhoever calls on the name of the Lord

Shall be 3saved.

For ein Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be 4deliverance,

As the Lord has said,

Among fthe remnant whom the Lord calls.

God Judges the Nations

3 “For behold, ain those days and at that time,

When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,

2 bI will also gather all nations,

And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

And I cwill 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.

3 They have dcast lots for My people,

Have given a boy as payment for a harlot,

And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.

4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me,

eO Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia?

Will you 1retaliate against Me?

But if you 2retaliate against Me,

Swiftly and speedily I will return your 3retaliation upon your own head;

5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold,

And have carried into your temples My 4prized possessions.

6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem

You have sold to the Greeks,

That you may remove them far from their borders.

7 “Behold, fI will raise them

Out of the place to which you have sold them,

And will return your 5retaliation upon your own head.

8 I will sell your sons and your daughters

Into the hand of the people of Judah,

And they will sell them to the gSabeans, 6

To a people hfar off;

For the Lord has spoken.”

9 iProclaim this among the nations:

“Prepare for war!

Wake up the mighty men,

Let all the men of war draw near,

Let them come up.

10 jBeat your plowshares into swords

And your 7pruning hooks into spears;

kLet the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ”

11 Assemble and come, all you nations,

And gather together all around.

Cause lYour mighty ones to go down there, O Lord.

12 “Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

For there I will sit to mjudge all the surrounding nations.

13 nPut in the sickle, for othe harvest is ripe.

Come, go down;

For the pwinepress is full,

The vats overflow—

For their wickedness is great.”

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For qthe day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

15 The sun and moon will grow dark,

And the stars will diminish their brightness.

16 The Lord also will roar from Zion,

And utter His voice from Jerusalem;

The heavens and earth will shake;

rBut the Lord will be a shelter for His people,

And the strength of the children of Israel.

17 “So you shall know that I am the Lord your God,

Dwelling in Zion My sholy mountain.

Then Jerusalem shall be holy,

And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.”