The Nations Will Be Judged

1“For behold, in those days and at that time,
         When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

2I will gather all the nations
         And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
         Then I will enter into judgment with them there
         On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
         Whom they have scattered among the nations;
         And they have divided up My land.

3“They have also cast lots for My people,
         Traded a boy for a harlot
         And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

4“Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5“Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, 6and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, 7behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8“Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for the LORD has spoken.

9Proclaim this among the nations:
         Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!
         Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!

10Beat your plowshares into swords
         And your pruning hooks into spears;
         Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”

11Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
         And gather yourselves there.
         Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones.

12Let the nations be aroused
         And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
         For there I will sit to judge
         All the surrounding nations.

13Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
         Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
         The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
         For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

15The sun and moon grow dark
         And the stars lose their brightness.

16The LORD roars from Zion
         And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
         And the heavens and the earth tremble.
         But the LORD is a refuge for His people
         And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.

17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
         Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
         So Jerusalem will be holy,
         And strangers will pass through it no more.

Judah Will Be Blessed

18And in that day
         The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
         And the hills will flow with milk,
         And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
         And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD
         To water the valley of Shittim.

19Egypt will become a waste,
         And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
         Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,
         In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

20But Judah will be inhabited forever
         And Jerusalem for all generations.

21And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
         For the LORD dwells in Zion.

NASB ©1995

American Standard Version
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

Douay-Rheims Bible
For behold in those days, and in that time when I shall bring back the captivity of Juda and Jerusalem:

Darby Bible Translation
For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall turn again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

English Revised Version
For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

Webster's Bible Translation
For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,

World English Bible
"For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

Young's Literal Translation
For lo, in those days, and in that time, When I turn back to the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,The Gospel Day Seen in Prophecy.
Upon reading the account of man's creation in the first chapters of Genesis we conclude that he enjoyed perfect peace and happiness. From the beautiful description given there of the garden of Eden--man's abode--we understand that God was interested in his felicity. In the nature of created things he could retain this happiness only by obedience to the Creator's laws. By a subtle foe he was induced to transgress those laws and thus became acquainted with sin and sorrow. After the transgression he …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

Whether the Judgment Will Take Place in the Valley of Josaphat?
Objection 1: It would seem that the judgment will not take place in the valley of Josaphat or in the surrounding locality. For at least it will be necessary for those to be judged to stand on the ground, and those alone to be raised aloft whose business it will be to judge. But the whole land of promise would not be able to contain the multitude of those who are to be judged. Therefore it is impossible for the judgment to take place in the neighborhood of that valley. Objection 2: Further, to Christ …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

"The Lord is Risen"
The night of the first day of the week had worn slowly away. The darkest hour, just before daybreak, had come. Christ was still a prisoner in His narrow tomb. The great stone was in its place; the Roman seal was unbroken; the Roman guards were keeping their watch. And there were unseen watchers. Hosts of evil angels were gathered about the place. Had it been possible, the prince of darkness with his apostate army would have kept forever sealed the tomb that held the Son of God. But a heavenly host …
Ellen Gould White—The Desire of Ages

Post-Millennialism Refuted.
The post-millennial position rests largely upon a mis-translation. In Matt. 13:39 we read "The harvest is the end of the world," and again in Matt. 24:3--"And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Now the Greek word which is used in the above passages is entirely different from the one found in John 3:16--"God so loved the Kosmos." In the verses …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

The Battle of Armageddon.
The Battle of Armageddon! What extravagant speculations have been indulged concerning it! What unscriptural theories have been entertained respecting it! To begin with; this appears from the term employed. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of "The Battle of Armageddon." The Scriptural expression is "The Battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Rev. 16:14). This Battle of the great day of God Almighty will bring the Tribulation period to a close and will witness the return of Christ to the earth to …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

The Twelve Minor Prophets.
1. By the Jewish arrangement, which places together the twelve minor prophets in a single volume, the chronological order of the prophets as a whole is broken up. The three greater prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, stand in the true order of time. Daniel began to prophesy before Ezekiel, but continued, many years after him. The Jewish arrangement of the twelve minor prophets is in a sense chronological; that is, they put the earlier prophets at the beginning, and the later at the end of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

The Valley of Hinnom.
A great part of the valley of Kedron was called also the 'Valley of Hinnom.' Jeremiah, going forth into the valley of Hinnom, went out by the gate "Hacharsith, the Sun-gate," Jeremiah 19:2; that is, the Rabbins and others being interpreters, 'by the East-gate.' For thence was the beginning of the valley of Hinnom, which, after some space, bending itself westward, ran out along the south side of the city. There is no need to repeat those very many things, which are related of this place in the Old …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

The Prophecy of Obadiah.
We need not enter into details regarding the question as to the time when the prophet wrote. By a thorough argumentation, Caspari has proved, that he occupies his right position in the Canon, and hence belongs to the earliest age of written prophecy, i.e., to the time of Jeroboam II. and Uzziah. As bearing conclusively against those who would assign to him a far later date, viz., the time of the exile, there is not only the indirect testimony borne by the place which this prophecy occupies in …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Exposition of Chap. Iii. (ii. 28-32. )
Ver. 1. "And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions." The communication of the Spirit of God was the constant prerogative of the Covenant-people. Indeed, the very idea of such a people necessarily requires it. For the Spirit of God is the only inward bond betwixt Him and that which is created; a Covenant-people, therefore, without such an inward …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

The Great Assize
[i.e., The Last Judgment -- GL] [21] "We shall all stand before the judgement-seat of Christ." Rom. 14:10. 1. How many circumstances concur to raise the awfulness of the present solemnity! -- The general concourse of people of every age, sex, rank, and condition of life, willingly or unwillingly gathered together, not only from the neighboring, but from distant, parts; criminals, speedily to be brought forth and having no way to escape; officers, waiting in their various posts, to execute the orders …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

The Figurative Language of Scripture.
1. When the psalmist says: "The Lord God is a sun and shield" (Psa. 84:11), he means that God is to all his creatures the source of life and blessedness, and their almighty protector; but this meaning he conveys under the figure of a sun and a shield. When, again, the apostle James says that Moses is read in the synagogues every Sabbath-day (Acts 15:21), he signifies the writings of Moses under the figure of his name. In these examples the figure lies in particular words. But it may be embodied …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

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