Joel 2

¹Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; ^a

sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the residents of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming; ^b

in fact, it is near —

²a day of darkness and gloom, ^c

a day of clouds and total darkness, ^d

like the dawn spreading over the mountains;

a great and strong people ^e appears,

such as never existed in ages past ^f

and never will again

in all the generations to come. ^g

³A fire devours in front of them, ^h

and behind them a flame blazes.

The land in front of them

is like the garden of Eden, ⁱ

but behind them,

it is like a desert wasteland; ^j

there is no escape from them.

⁴Their appearance is like that of horses, ^k

and they gallop like war horses.

⁵They bound on the tops of the mountains.

Their sound is like the sound of chariots, ^l

like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, ^m

like a mighty army deployed for war.

⁶Nations writhe in horror before them; ⁿ

all faces turn pale.

⁷They attack as warriors attack;

they scale walls as men of war do.

Each goes on his own path, ^o

and they do not change their course.

⁸They do not push each other;

each proceeds on his own path.

They dodge the arrows, never stopping.

⁹They storm the city;

they run on the wall;

they climb into the houses; ^p

they enter through the windows like thieves. ^q

¹⁰The earth quakes before them; ^r

the sky shakes.

The sun and moon grow dark, ^s

and the stars cease their shining. ^t

¹¹The Lord makes his voice heard ^u

in the presence of his army. ^v

His camp is very large;

those who carry out his command are powerful. ^w

Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful ^x —

who can endure it? ^y

God’s Call for Repentance

¹²Even now —

this is the Lord’s declaration —

turn to me with all your heart, ^z

with fasting, weeping, and mourning. ^aa

¹³Tear your hearts, ^ab

not just your clothes, ^ac

and return to the Lord your God.

For he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,

and he relents from sending disaster. ^ad

¹⁴Who knows? He may turn and relent ^ae

and leave a blessing behind him, ^af

so you can offer a grain offering and a drink offering

to the Lord your God. ^ag

¹⁵Blow the ram’s horn in Zion! ^ah

Announce a sacred fast; ^ai

proclaim a solemn assembly.

¹⁶Gather the people;

sanctify the congregation; ^aj

assemble the aged; ^ak,^al

gather the infants,

even babies nursing at the breast.

Let the groom leave his bedroom, ^am

and the bride her honeymoon chamber.

¹⁷Let the priests, ^an the Lord’s ministers,

weep between the portico and the altar. ^ao

Let them say,

“Have pity on your people, Lord, ^ap

and do not make your inheritance a disgrace, ^aq

an object of scorn among the nations.

Why should it be said among the peoples,

‘Where is their God? ’ ” ^ar

God’s Response to His People

¹⁸Then the Lord became jealous for his land ^as and spared his people. ^{at 19}The Lord answered his people:

Look, I am about to send you

grain, new wine, and fresh oil. ^au

You will be satiated with them,

and I will no longer make you

a disgrace among the nations. ^av

²⁰I will drive the northerner far from you ^aw

and banish him to a dry and desolate land,

his front ranks into the Dead Sea, ^ax

and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. ^ay

His stench will rise;

yes, his rotten smell will rise, ^az

for he has done astonishing things.

²¹Don’t be afraid, land; ^ba

rejoice and be glad,

for the Lord has done astonishing things. ^bb

²²Don’t be afraid, wild animals,

for the wilderness pastures have turned green, ^bc

the trees bear their fruit,

and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.

²³Children of Zion, ^bd rejoice and be glad

in the Lord your God, ^be

because he gives you the autumn rain ^bf

for your vindication. ^bg,^bh

He sends showers for you,

both autumn and spring rain ^bi as before.

²⁴The threshing floors will be full of grain, ^bj

and the vats will overflow

with new wine and fresh oil.

²⁵I will repay you for the years

that the swarming locust ate, ^bk

the young locust, the destroying locust,

and the devouring locust —

my great army that I sent against you.

²⁶You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. ^bl

You will praise the name of the Lord your God, ^bm

who has dealt wondrously with you. ^bn

My people will never again be put to shame. ^bo

²⁷You will know that I am present in Israel ^bp

and that I am the Lord your God,

and there is no other. ^bq

My people will never again be put to shame. ^br

God’s Promise of His Spirit

²⁸After this ^bs

I will pour out my Spirit ^bt on all humanity; ^bu

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,

your old men will have dreams,

and your young men will see visions.

²⁹I will even pour out my Spirit

on the male and female slaves in those days. ^bv

³⁰I will display wonders

in the heavens and on the earth: ^bw

blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

³¹The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood ^bx

before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. ^by

³²Then everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved, ^bz

for there will be an escape

for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

as the Lord promised, ^ca

among the survivors the Lord calls.