Joel 2

The Day of the Lord

1  Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2  a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.

3  Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.

4  Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5  As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

6  Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7  Like warriors they charge;
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;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9  They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.

10  The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11  The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?

Return to the Lord

12  "Yet even now," declares the Lord,
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13  and rend your hearts and not your garments."
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14  Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?

15  Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16  gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.

17  Between the vestibule and the altar
let 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.t
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is their God?'"

The Lord Had Pity

18  Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19  The Lord answered and said to his people,
"Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.

20  "I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguardt into the eastern sea,
and his rear guardt into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.

21  "Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22  Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

23  "Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.

24  "The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25  I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.

26  "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27  You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

28 t "And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29  Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

30 "And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.32 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

Joel 2

The Locusts’ Devastation

1 Blow the trumpett in Zion;
sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,
for the day of the Lord is about to come.
Indeed,t it is near!s

2 It will bet a day of dreadful darkness,t
a day of foreboding storm clouds,t
like blacknesss spread over the mountains.
It is a huge and powerful armyt –
there has never been anything like it ever before,
and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!t

3 Like fire they devour everything in their path;t
a flame blazes behind them.
The land looks like the Garden of Edent before them,
but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –
for nothing escapes them!t

4 They look like horses;ts
they charge ahead like war horses.

5 They sound likets chariots rumblingt over mountain tops,
like the cracklingt of blazing fire consuming stubble,
like the noise oft a mighty armyt being drawn up for battle.t

6 Peoplet writhe in fear when they see them.t
All of their faces turn pale with fright.t

7 Theys charget like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.t
Each one proceeds on his course;
they do not alters their path.

8 They do not jostle one another;t
each of them marches straight ahead.t
They burst throught the city defensest
and do not break ranks.

9 They rush intot the city;
they scalet its walls.
They climb up into the houses;
they go in through the windows like a thief.

10 The earth quakess before them;t
the sky reverberates.t
The sun and the moon grow dark;
the stars refuse to shine.t

11 The voice of the Lord thunderst as he leads his army.t
Indeed, his warriorst are innumerable;t
Surely his command is carried out!t
Yes, the day of the Lord is awesomet
and very terrifying – who can survivet it?

An Appeal for Repentance

12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,
“return to me with all your heart –
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Tear your hearts,s
not just your garments!”

13 Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal lovet – often relenting from calamitous punishment.t

14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve,t
and leave blessing in his waket –
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!t

15 Blow the trumpett in Zion.
Announce a holy fast;
proclaim a sacred assembly!

16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters.s

17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep
from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.t
Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;
please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,
to become a proverbt among the nations.
Why should it be saidt among the peoples,
“Where is their God?”

The Lord’s Response

18 Then the Lord becamet zealous for his land;
he had compassion on his people.

19 The Lord respondedt to his people,
“Look! I am about to restore your graint
as well as fresh wine and olive oil.
You will be fully satisfied.s
I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.

20 I will remove the one from the norths far from you.
I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place.
Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea,t
and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea.t
His stench will rise up as a foul smell.”s
Indeed, the Lordt has accomplished great things.

21 Do not fear, my land!
Rejoice and be glad,
because the Lord has accomplished great things!

22 Do not fear, wild animals!t
For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass.
Indeed, the trees bear their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest.t

23 Citizens of Zion,t rejoice!
Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done!t
For he has given to you the early rainst as vindication.
He has sentt to you the rains –
both the early and the late rainss as formerly.

24 The threshing floors are full of grain;
the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.

25 I will make up for the yearsts
that the ‘arbeh-locusts consumed your cropst –
the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust –
my great armys that I sent against you.

26 You will have plenty to eat,
and your hunger will be fully satisfied;t
you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has acted wondrously in your behalf.
My people will never again be put to shame.

27 You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel.
I am the Lord your God; there is no other.
My people will never again be put to shame.

An Outpouring of the Spirit

28 s After all of thist
I will pour out my Spirits on all kinds of people.t
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your elderly will have revelatory dreams;t
your young men will see prophetic visions.

29 Even on male and female servants
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

30 I will produce portents both in the skyt and on the earth –
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness
and the moon to the color of blood,t
before the day of the Lord comes –
that great and terrible day!

32 It will so happen that
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.t
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalems there will be those who survive,t
just as the Lord has promised;
the remnantt will be those whom the Lord will call.t