Joel 1:15–2:11

^15*The day of the Lord is near;

the day when the Almighty brings destruction.

What terror that day will bring!

¹⁶We look on helpless as our crops are destroyed.

There is no joy in the Temple of our God.

¹⁷The seeds die in the dry earth.

There is no grain to be stored,

and so the empty granaries are in ruins.

¹⁸The cattle are bellowing in distress

because there is no pasture for them;

the flocks of sheep also suffer.

¹⁹I cry out to you, Lord,

because the pastures and trees are dried up,

as though a fire had burnt them.

²⁰Even the wild animals cry out to you

because the streams have become dry.

The Locusts as a Warning of the Day of the

2Blow the trumpet; sound the alarm on Zion, God’s sacred hill.^a

Tremble, people of Judah!

The day of the Lord is coming soon.

²It will be a dark and gloomy day,

a black and cloudy day.

The great army of locusts advances

like darkness spreading over the mountains.

There has never been anything like it,

and there never will be again.

³Like fire they eat up the plants.

In front of them the land is like the Garden of Eden,

but behind them it is a barren desert.

Nothing escapes them.

^4*They look like horses;

they run like war horses.

^5*As they leap on the tops of the mountains,

they rattle like chariots;

they crackle like dry grass on fire.

They are lined up like a great army ready for battle.

⁶As they approach, everyone is terrified;

every face turns pale.

⁷They attack like warriors;

they climb the walls like soldiers.

They all keep marching straight ahead

and do not change direction

⁸or get in each other’s way.

They swarm through defences,

and nothing can stop them.

⁹They rush against the city;

they run over the walls;

they climb up the houses

and go in through the windows like thieves.

^10*The earth shakes as they advance;

the sky trembles.

The sun and the moon grow dark,

and the stars no longer shine.

^11*The Lord thunders commands to his army.

The troops that obey him

are many and mighty.

How terrible is the day of the Lord!

Who will survive it?