Joel 2:1–3

Blow a trumpet in Zion;

sound an alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

a great and powerful people;

their like has never been before,

nor will be again after them

through the years of all generations.

Fire devours before them,

and behind them a flame burns.

The land is like the garden of Eden before them,

but behind them a desolate wilderness,

and nothing escapes them.

Blow the trumpet in Zion;

sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming.

It is close at hand—

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness.

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty army comes,

such as never was in ancient times

nor ever will be in ages to come.

Before them fire devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,

behind them, a desert waste—

nothing escapes them.

Blow the trumpet in Zion;

sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the residents of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming;

in fact, it is near—

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and total darkness,

like the dawn spreading over the mountains;

a great and strong people appears,

such as never existed in ages past

and never will again

in all the generations to come.

A fire devours in front of them,

and behind them a flame blazes.

The land in front of them

is like the garden of Eden,

but behind them,

it is like a desert wasteland;

there is no escape from them.

Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!

Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let everyone tremble in fear

because the day of the Lord is upon us.

It is a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.

Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,

a great and mighty army appears.

Nothing like it has been seen before

or will ever be seen again.

Fire burns in front of them,

and flames follow after them.

Ahead of them the land lies

as beautiful as the Garden of Eden.

Behind them is nothing but desolation;

not one thing escapes.

Blow the trumpet in Zion,

and sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of Yahweh is coming

—it is indeed near.

A 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.

Before them a fire devours,

and behind them a flame burns.

Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,

and after them it is like a desolate desert,

and nothing can escape them.

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:

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

A day of darkness and of gloominess,

A day of clouds and of thick darkness,

As the morning spread upon the mountains:

A great people and a strong;

There hath not been ever the like,

Neither shall be any more after it,

Even to the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them;

And behind them a flame burneth:

The land is as the garden of Eden before them,

And behind them a desolate wilderness;

Yea, and nothing shall escape them.