First ReadingJoel 4:12-21
From the Book of Joel
12“Let the nations arouse themselves,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 the moon are darkened,and the stars withdraw their shining.16The Lord will roar from Zion,and thunder from Jerusalem;and the heavens and the earth will shake;but the Lord will be a refuge to his people,and a stronghold to the children of Israel.17“So you will know that I am the Lord, your God,dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.Then Jerusalem will be holy,and no strangers will pass through her any more.18It 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 flow out from the Lord’s house,and will water the valley of Shittim.19Egypt will be a desolationand Edom will be a desolate wilderness,for the violence done to the children of Judah,because they have shed innocent blood in their land.20But Judah will be inhabited forever,and Jerusalem from generation to generation.21I will cleanse their bloodthat I have not cleansed,for the Lord dwells in Zion.”