Joel 3:13-16
The harvest of wickedness is ripe and judgment comes with sickle and winepress; the Lord roars from Zion and heaven and earth tremble — but the Lord is refuge and stronghold for the people of Israel.
13 Put in the sickle; for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full, the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.”
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near, in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
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.
The harvest of wickedness is ripe and judgment comes with sickle and winepress; the LORD roars from Zion and heaven and earth tremble — but the LORD is refuge and stronghold for the people of Israel.
To declare that the harvest of divine judgment is ripe and ready — the winepress is full and the vats overflow with the wickedness of the nations — and to announce that while the LORD roars from Zion and shakes heaven and earth, he is the refuge and stronghold for his own people.
This unit is the judgment-climax of the chapter's arc (3:1-16) and simultaneously the pivot that introduces the dwelling-and-holiness finale of 3:17-21. The multitudes in the valley of decision bring together the gathering of 3:2 and the specific nations of 3:4-12. The refuge declaration of 3:16 prepares for the full covenant-dwelling vision of 3:17-21.
The LORD Judges the Nations and Dwells with His People
The day of the LORD will judge the nations, vindicate God's people, cleanse covenant wrongs, and establish the LORD's holy presence among his restored people.