The words "the nations" and "the surrounding nations" refer to the same nations, those that surround Judah. Yahweh will judge them in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for what they have done to Jerusalem.
Jehoshaphat, whose name means "Yahweh judges," was king of Judah before Joel lived. There is no known place with this name. It would be best to translate this as the name of a valley that people named after the man Jehoshaphat. See how you translated this in [Joel 3:2](./01.md).
# Put in the sickle ... the winepress is full
Possible meanings are that Yahweh speaks of completely destroying the nations as if 1) he were harvesting all the grapes and all the grain or 2) he were harvesting quickly, while the grain and grapes are ripe. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe
Yahweh speaks of making war against the nations as if he were using a sharp tool to harvest a field of ripe crops. If your readers will not understand the word "sickle," you may use the word for any sharp tool that your people use for harvesting. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
# Put in the sickle
"Swing the sickle to cut the grain." This is a metaphor for a soldier using a sword to kill people, but it is best to use the word for a sharp tool used in harvesting. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
Yahweh speaks of the nations as if they were many grapes in a winepress, ready for people to crush them by stepping on them. AT: "Come, completely destroy the nations, for they are many, and they are helpless to resist you" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
Yahweh speaks of the nations' wickedness as if it were the juice that flows from the winepress into storage containers, and more juice flows into the vats than they can contain. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])
See in Reader
