Joel 2–3

The Locust Army

^1–32Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion!

Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain!

Shake the country up!

God’s Judgment’s on its way—the Day’s almost here!

A black day! A Doomsday!

Clouds with no silver lining!

Like dawn light moving over the mountains,

a huge army is coming.

There’s never been anything like it

and never will be again.

Wildfire burns everything before this army

and fire licks up everything in its wake.

Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden.

When it leaves, it is Death Valley.

Nothing escapes unscathed.

^4–6The locust army seems all horses—

galloping horses, an army of horses.

It sounds like thunder

leaping on mountain ridges,

Or like the roar of wildfire

through grass and brush,

Or like an invincible army shouting for blood,

ready to fight, straining at the bit.

At the sight of this army,

the people panic, faces white with terror.

^7–11The invaders charge.

They climb barricades. Nothing stops them.

Each soldier does what he’s told,

so disciplined, so determined.

They don’t get in each other’s way.

Each one knows his job and does it.

Undaunted and fearless,

unswerving, unstoppable.

They storm the city,

swarm its defenses,

Loot the houses,

breaking down doors, smashing windows.

They arrive like an earthquake,

sweep through like a tornado.

Sun and moon turn out their lights,

stars black out.

God himself bellows in thunder

as he commands his forces.

Look at the size of that army!

And the strength of those who obey him!

God’s Judgment Day—great and terrible.

Who can possibly survive this?

Change Your Life

¹²But there’s also this, it’s not too late—

God’s personal Message!—

“Come back to me and really mean it!

Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!”

^13–14Change your life, not just your clothes.

Come back to God, your God.

And here’s why: God is kind and merciful.

He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,

This most patient God, extravagant in love,

always ready to cancel catastrophe.

Who knows? Maybe he’ll do it now,

maybe he’ll turn around and show pity.

Maybe, when all’s said and done,

there’ll be blessings full and robust for your God!

^15–17Blow the ram’s horn trumpet in Zion!

Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day.

Call a public meeting.

Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation.

Make sure the elders come,

but bring in the children, too, even the nursing babies,

Even men and women on their honeymoon—

interrupt them and get them there.

Between Sanctuary entrance and altar,

let the priests, God’s servants, weep tears of repentance.

Let them intercede: “Have mercy, God, on your people!

Don’t abandon your heritage to contempt.

Don’t let the pagans take over and rule them

and sneer, ‘And so where is this God of theirs?’ ”

^18–20At that, God went into action to get his land back.

He took pity on his people.

God answered and spoke to his people,

“Look, listen—I’m sending a gift:

Grain and wine and olive oil.

The fast is over—eat your fill!

I won’t expose you any longer

to contempt among the pagans.

I’ll head off the final enemy coming out of the north

and dump them in a wasteland.

Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea,

the other half in the Mediterranean.

There they’ll rot, a stench to high heaven.

The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!”

The Trees Are Bearing Fruit Again

^21–24Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate!

God has done great things.

Fear not, wild animals!

The fields and meadows are greening up.

The trees are bearing fruit again:

a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!

Children of Zion, celebrate!

Be glad in your God.

He’s giving you a teacher

to train you how to live right—

Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words

to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.

And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain,

casks of wine and barrels of olive oil.

^25–27“I’ll make up for the years of the locust,

the great locust devastation—

Locusts savage, locusts deadly,

fierce locusts, locusts of doom,

That great locust invasion

I sent your way.

You’ll eat your fill of good food.

You’ll be full of praises to your God,

The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder.

Never again will my people be despised.

You’ll know without question

that I’m in the thick of life with Israel,

That I’m your God, yes, your God,

the one and only real God.

Never again will my people be despised.

The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red

^28–32“And that’s just the beginning: After that—

“I will pour out my Spirit

on every kind of people:

Your sons will prophesy,

also your daughters.

Your old men will dream,

your young men will see visions.

I’ll even pour out my Spirit on the servants,

men and women both.

I’ll set wonders in the sky above

and signs on the earth below:

Blood and fire and billowing smoke,

the sun turning black and the moon blood-red,

Before the Judgment Day of God,

the Day tremendous and awesome.

Whoever calls, ‘Help, God!’

gets help.

On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

there will be a great rescue—just as God said.

Included in the survivors

are those that God calls.”

God Is a Safe Hiding Place

^1–33“In those days, yes, at that very time

when I put life back together again for Judah and Jerusalem,

I’ll assemble all the godless nations.

I’ll lead them down into Judgment Valley

And put them all on trial, and judge them one and all

because of their treatment of my own people Israel.

They scattered my people all over the pagan world

and grabbed my land for themselves.

They threw dice for my people

and used them for barter.

They would trade a boy for a whore,

sell a girl for a bottle of wine when they wanted a drink.

^4–8“As for you, Tyre and Sidon and Philistia,

why should I bother with you?

Are you trying to get back at me

for something I did to you?

If you are, forget it.

I’ll see to it that it boomerangs on you.

You robbed me, cleaned me out of silver and gold,

carted off everything valuable to furnish your own temples.

You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem

into slavery to the Greeks in faraway places.

But I’m going to reverse your crime.

I’m going to free those slaves.

I’ll have done to you what you did to them:

I’ll sell your children as slaves to your neighbors,

And they’ll sell them to the far-off Sabeans.”

God’s Verdict.

^9–11Announce this to the godless nations:

Prepare for battle!

Soldiers at attention!

Present arms! Advance!

Turn your shovels into swords,

turn your hoes into spears.

Let the weak one throw out his chest

and say, “I’m tough, I’m a fighter.”

Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on!

Get your act together.

Prepare to be

shattered by God!

¹²Let the pagan nations set out

for Judgment Valley.

There I’ll take my place at the bench

and judge all the surrounding nations.

¹³“Swing the sickle—

the harvest is ready.

Stomp on the grapes—

the winepress is full.

The wine vats are full,

overflowing with vintage evil.

¹⁴“Mass confusion, mob uproar—

in Decision Valley!

God’s Judgment Day has arrived

in Decision Valley.

^15–17“The sky turns black,

sun and moon go dark, stars burn out.

God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem.

Earth and sky quake in terror.

But God is a safe hiding place,

a granite safe house for the children of Israel.

Then you’ll know for sure

that I’m your God,

Living in Zion,

my sacred mountain.

Jerusalem will be a sacred city,

posted: ‘no trespassing.’

Milk Rivering Out of the Hills

^18–21“What a day!

Wine streaming off the mountains,

Milk rivering out of the hills,

water flowing everywhere in Judah,

A fountain pouring out of God’s Sanctuary,

watering all the parks and gardens!

But Egypt will be reduced to weeds in a vacant lot,

Edom turned into barren badlands,

All because of brutalities to the Judean people,

the atrocities and murders of helpless innocents.

Meanwhile, Judah will be filled with people,

Jerusalem inhabited forever.

The sins I haven’t already forgiven, I’ll forgive.”

God has moved into Zion for good.