Joel 1:15–2:11

¹⁵Ah! For the day!

For the day of Yahweh is near.

It will come like destruction from Shaddai.^d

¹⁶Is not food cut off

before our eyes,

from the house of our God,

joy and gladness?

¹⁷The seeds shrivel under their clods;

the storehouses are desolate.

The grain storage places are destroyed

because grain has dried out.

¹⁸How the beasts^e groan;

the herds of cattle wander around

because there is no pasture for them;

the flocks of sheep are in distress.

¹⁹To you, O Yahweh, I cry out,

because fire has devoured

the pastures of the desert,

and flames^f burned

all the trees of the field.

²⁰Also, the beasts of the field

long for you,

because the courses of water

are dried up,

and fire has devoured

the pastures of the desert.

The Day of Yahweh is Near

2Blow the trumpet^a in Zion,

and sound the alarm on my holy mountain!^b

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of Yahweh is coming

—it is indeed near.

²A day of darkness and gloom,

a day of cloud and thick darkness,

like the dawn spreads on the mountains,

a great and strong army!

There has been nothing like it from old,

and after it nothing will be again for generations to come.^c

³Before them^d a fire devours,

and behind them a flame burns.

Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,^e

and after them it is like a desolate desert,

and nothing can escape them.

⁴Like the appearance of horses is their appearance,

and like horsemen they run;

⁵like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about;

like the sound of a flame of fire

devouring stubble;

like a strong army arranged

in rows for battle.

⁶From before them^f nations writhe,

all faces turn pale.^g

⁷They run like mighty warriors,^h

they scale the wall like men of war;

each goes on its own way,

and they do not swerve from their paths.

⁸They do not jostle one another;ⁱ

each goes on its own trail;

and through the falling weapons,^j

they are not halted.

⁹In the city they rush forth;

on the walls^k they run.

Into the houses they climb up;

through the windows

they enter like a thief.

¹⁰Before them^l the earth quakes;

the heavens tremble;

the sun and the moon grow dark,

and the stars have withheld^m their splendor

¹¹And Yahweh uttersⁿ his voice before his army,

because his encampment is very large;

strong is the one who carries out his decree,

for great is the day of Yahweh

and exceedingly fearful.

Who can endure it?