Joel 2:1–17
sound an alarm on kmy holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for lthe day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 ma day of darkness and gloom,
ma day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
na great and powerful people;
otheir like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
3 pFire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like qthe garden of Eden before them,
but rbehind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 sTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 tAs with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of ua flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
nlike a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
vall faces grow pale.
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
weach marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 xThey leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
ythey climb up into the houses,
ythey enter through the windows zlike a thief.
10 aThe earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
bThe sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 cThe Lord utters his voice
before dhis army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
ehe who executes his word is powerful.
fFor the day of the Lord is ggreat and very awesome;
hwho can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
i“return to me with all your heart,
jwith fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and krend your hearts and not lyour garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
mfor he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
nand he relents over disaster.
14 oWho knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and pleave a blessing behind him,
qa grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15 rBlow the trumpet in Zion;
sconsecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
tConsecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
ugather the children,
even nursing infants.
vLet the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 wBetween the xvestibule and the yaltar
zlet the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.1
aWhy should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”