Joel 2

¹Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble! For the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is near!

²A day of darkness, and gloominess, A day of clouds, and thick darkness. As the morning light spreadeth itself upon the mountains, There cometh a numerous people and a strong; Like them there have been none of old time, And after them there shall not be, Even to the years of many generations.

³A fire devoureth before them, And behind them a flame burneth; The land is as the garden of Eden before them. And behind them a desolate wilderness! Yea, nothing escapeth them.

⁴Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, And like horsemen do they run;

⁵Like rattling chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains; Like the crackling flame of fire, which devoureth stubble; Like a mighty host set in battle array.

⁶Before them the people tremble, And all faces gather blackness.

⁷They run like mighty men; They climb the wall like warriors; They march every one on his way; They change not their paths.

⁸One doth not thrust another; They march every one in his path, And though they rush among weapons, they are not wounded.

⁹They run through the city; They run upon the wall; They go up into the houses; They enter in at the windows, like a thief.

¹⁰The earth quaketh before them, And the heavens tremble; The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining.

¹¹Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; For very great is his host; Yea, it is mighty, executing his word; The day of Jehovah is great, and very terrible; Who shall be able to bear it?

¹²Yet even now, saith Jehovah, Turn ye to me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning!

¹³And rend your hearts, and not your garments, And turn to Jehovah your God, For he is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness, And repenteth of a threatened evil.

¹⁴Who knoweth but he will turn and repent, And leave a blessing behind him, Even a flour-offering and a drink-offering for Jehovah your God.

¹⁵Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Appoint yea fast; proclaim a solemn assembly!

¹⁶Gather the people; appoint a congregation; Assemble the elders; Gather the children and the sucklings! Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber, And the bride from her nuptial bed!

¹⁷Let the priests, the servants of Jehovah, Weep between the porch and the altar, And say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, And give not thine inheritance to reproach, And to be a by-word to the nations! Why should they say among the nations, Where is their God?

¹⁸Then will Jehovah be zealous for his land, And have compassion on his people,

¹⁹Yea, Jehovah will answer, and say to his people, Behold, I will send you corn, And new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; And I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

²⁰I will remove far from you the northern host, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land; Its van toward the Eastern sea, And its rear toward the Western sea. And its scent shall come up, And its ill savor shall come up, Because it hath done great things.

²¹Fear not, O land, exult and rejoice, For Jehovah hath done great things!

²²Fear not, O ye beasts of the field, For the pastures of the desert spring up, For the tree beareth its fruit; The fig-tree and the vine yield their strength!

²³And, O ye sons of Zion, exult, And rejoice in Jehovah your God! For he giveth you the former rain in just measure, And causeth showers to come down upon you, Even the former rain, and the latter rain, as aforetime.

²⁴And the threshing-floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵And I will restore to you the years Which the swarming-locust hath eaten, The licking-locust, the consuming-locust, and the gnawing-locusts, My great army, which I sent among you.

²⁶Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, And praise the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt wondrously with you; And my people shall never be put to shame.

²⁷Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Jehovah, your God, and none else; And my people shall never be put to shame.

²⁸And it shall come to pass afterward, That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions.

²⁹Upon the men-servants also, and upon the handmaids, Will I pour out my spirit in those days.

³⁰And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; Blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.

³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of Jehovah cometh, The great and the terrible day. Then whoever calleth on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered;

³²For upon mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall be deliverance, As Jehovah hath spoken; And among the remnant, whom Jehovah shall call.

Joel 2

¹Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

²A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

³A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

⁴The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

⁵Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

⁶Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

⁷They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

⁸Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

⁹They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

¹⁰The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

¹¹And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

¹²Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

¹⁴Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?

¹⁵Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

¹⁷Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

¹⁸Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

¹⁹Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

²⁰But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

²¹Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.

²²Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

²³Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

²⁴And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

²⁵And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

²⁶And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.

²⁷And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

²⁸And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

²⁹And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

³⁰And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

³²And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.