Joel 1:15–2:11

15  Alas for the day! ifor the day of the Lord is at hand,

And as a jdestruction from kthe Almighty shall it come.

16  fIs not the meat cut off before our eyes,

Yea, ljoy and gladness ffrom the house of our God?

17  llThe †seed is rotten under their clods,

The garners are laid desolate, mthe barns are broken down;

For the corn is ywithered.

18  nHow do the beasts groan!

The herds of cattle nnare perplexed,

Because they have no pasture;

Yea, the flocks of sheep oare made desolate.

19  O Lord, pto thee will I cry:

For qthe fire hath devoured rthe ||pastures of the wilderness,

And sthe flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

20  nThe beasts of the field tcry also unto thee:

For uthe rivers of waters vare dried up,

And qthe fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

2 aBlow ye the ||trumpet bin Zion, and asound an alarm in bmy holy mountain:

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:

cFor the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

2  cdeA day of darkness and deof gloominess,

dfA day of clouds and dfof thick darkness,

As gthe morning spread upon the mountains:

hA great people and a strong;

iThere hath not been ever the like,

Neither shall be any more after it,

Even to the years †of many generations.

3  jA fire devoureth before them;

And behind them ja flame burneth:

The land is as kthe garden of Eden before them,

And kkbehind them la desolate wilderness;

Yea, and llnothing shall escape them.

4  mThe appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;

And as horsemen, so shall they run.

5  nLike the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they nnleap,

Like the noise of a flame of ofire that devoureth the stubble,

hAs a strong people set in battle array.

6  Before their face the people shall be much pained:

pAll faces qshall gather †blackness.

7  They 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:

8  Neither shall one rthrust another;

They shall walk every one in his path:

And when they fall upon the ||sword, they shall not sbe wounded.

9  tThey shall urun to and fro in the city;

They shall urun upon the wall,

They shall climb up upon the houses;

vThey shall enter in at the windows vvlike a thief.

10  wThe earth shall quake before them;

wThe heavens shall tremble:

xyThe sun and the moon shall be dark,

xAnd the stars shall withdraw their shining:

11  And xxthe Lord shall utter his voice before yhis army:

For hhis zcamp is very great:

aFor he is strong that executeth his word:

For bcthe day of the Lord is great and very cterrible;

And dwho can abide it?