Joel 1:15–2:11

THE DAY OF THE LORD

¹⁵Woe because of that day!^af

For the day of the Lord is near

and will come as devastation from the Almighty.^ag

¹⁶Hasn’t the food been cut off

before our eyes,^ah

joy and gladness^ai

from the house of our God?

¹⁷The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.^Aaj

The storehouses are in ruin,

and the granaries are broken down,

because the grain has withered away.

¹⁸How the animals groan!^ak

The herds of cattle wander in confusion

since they have no pasture.

Even the flocks of sheep and goats suffer punishment.

¹⁹I call to you, Lord,^al

for fire has consumed

the pastures of the wilderness,^a

and flames have devoured

all the trees of the orchard.

²⁰Even the wild animals cry out to^B you,^b

for the river beds are dried up,^c

and fire has consumed

the pastures of the wilderness.

2Blow the trumpet in Zion;^d

sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the residents of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming;^e

in fact, it is near—

²a day of darkness and gloom,^f

a day of clouds and total darkness,^g

like the dawn spreading over the mountains;

a great and strong people^h appears,

such as never existed in ages pastⁱ

and never will again

in all the generations to come.^j

³A fire devours in front of them,^k

and behind them a flame blazes.

The land in front of them

is like the garden of Eden,^l

but behind them,

it is like a desert wasteland;^m

there is no escape from them.

⁴Their appearance is like that of horses,ⁿ

and they gallop like war horses.

⁵They bound on the tops of the mountains.

Their sound is like the sound of chariots,^o

like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,^p

like a mighty army deployed for war.

⁶Nations writhe in horror before them;^q

all faces turn pale.

⁷They attack as warriors attack;

they scale walls as men of war do.

Each goes on his own path,^r

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;^s

they enter through the windows like thieves.^t

¹⁰The earth quakes before them;^u

the sky shakes.

The sun and moon grow dark,^v

and the stars cease their shining.^w

¹¹The Lord makes his voice heard^x

in the presence of his army.^y

His camp is very large;

those who carry out his command are powerful.^z

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

who can endure it?^ab