Joel 2:1–11

The Day of the Lord

¹Blow the ram’s horn in Zion. 

Sound the alarm on my holy mountain. 

Everyone who lives in the land should tremble, 

because the day of the Lord is coming. 

Certainly, it is near. 

²It is a day of darkness and gloom, 

a day of clouds and overcast skies. 

A large and mighty army 

will spread over the mountains like the dawn.^a

Nothing like this has ever happened. 

Nothing like this will ever happen again. 

³In front of this army a fire burns. 

Behind it flames are blazing. 

In front of it the land is like the garden of Eden. 

Behind it the land is like a barren desert. 

Nothing escapes it! 

⁴The soldiers look like horses. 

They run like war horses. 

⁵As they leap on mountaintops, 

they sound like rattling chariots, 

like crackling fire burning up straw, 

and like a mighty army prepared for battle. 

⁶People are terrified in their presence. 

Every face turns pale. 

⁷They run like warriors. 

They climb walls like soldiers. 

They march straight ahead. 

They do not leave their places. 

⁸They do not crowd one another. 

They keep in their own lines. 

Even when they break through the defenses, 

they do not break their ranks. 

⁹They rush into the city. 

They run along the wall. 

They climb into houses. 

They enter through windows like thieves. 

¹⁰The earth quakes in their presence, 

and the sky shakes. 

The sun and the moon turn dark, 

and the stars no longer shine. 

¹¹The Lord shouts out orders to his army. 

His forces are very large. 

The troops that carry out his commands are mighty. 

The day of the Lord is extremely terrifying. 

Who can endure it?