Joel 2–3

An Army of Locusts

2Blow the trumpet^z in Zion;^a

sound the alarm on my holy hill.^b

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord^c is coming.

It is close at hand^d—

²a day of darkness^e and gloom,^f

a day of clouds^g and blackness.^h

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty armyⁱ comes,

such as never was in ancient times^j

nor ever will be in ages to come.

³Before them fire^k devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,^l

behind them, a desert waste^m—

nothing escapes them.

⁴They have the appearance of horses;ⁿ

they gallop along like cavalry.

⁵With a noise like that of chariots^o

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire^p consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

⁶At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;^q

every face turns pale.^r

⁷They charge like warriors;^s

they scale walls like soldiers.

They all march in line,^t

not swerving^u from their course.

⁸They do not jostle each other;

each marches straight ahead.

They plunge through defenses

without breaking ranks.

⁹They rush upon the city;

they run along the wall.

They climb into the houses;^v

like thieves they enter through the windows.^w

¹⁰Before them the earth shakes,^x

the heavens tremble,^y

the sun and moon are darkened,^z

and the stars no longer shine.^a

¹¹The Lord^b thunders^c

at the head of his army;^d

his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the Lord is great;^e

it is dreadful.

Who can endure it?^f

Rend Your Heart

¹²“Even now,” declares the Lord,

“return^g to me with all your heart,^h

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

¹³Rend your heartⁱ

and not your garments.^j

Return^k to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,^l

slow to anger and abounding in love,^m

and he relents from sending calamity.ⁿ

¹⁴Who knows? He may turn^o and relent^p

and leave behind a blessing^q—

grain offerings and drink offerings^r

for the Lord your God.

¹⁵Blow the trumpet^s in Zion,^t

declare a holy fast,^u

call a sacred assembly.^v

¹⁶Gather the people,

consecrate^w the assembly;

bring together the elders,^x

gather the children,

those nursing at the breast.

Let the bridegroom^y leave his room

and the bride her chamber.

¹⁷Let the priests, who minister^z before the Lord,

weep^a between the portico and the altar.^b

Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.

Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,^c

a byword^d among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?^e’ ”

The Lord’s Answer

¹⁸Then the Lord was jealous^f for his land

and took pity^g on his people.

¹⁹The Lord replied^a to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine^h and olive oil,ⁱ

enough to satisfy you fully;^j

never again will I make you

an object of scorn^k to the nations.

²⁰“I will drive the northern horde^l far from you,

pushing it into a parched and barren land;

its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea

and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.

And its stench^m will go up;

its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!

²¹Do not be afraid,ⁿ land of Judah;

be glad and rejoice.^o

Surely the Lord has done great things!^p

²²Do not be afraid, you wild animals,

for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.^q

The trees are bearing their fruit;

the fig tree^r and the vine^s yield their riches.^t

²³Be glad, people of Zion,

rejoice^u in the Lord your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains

because he is faithful.^v

He sends you abundant showers,^w

both autumn^x and spring rains,^y as before.

²⁴The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow^z with new wine^a and oil.

²⁵“I will repay you for the years the locusts^b have eaten^c—

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm^b—

my great army^d that I sent among you.

²⁶You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,^e

and you will praise^f the name of the Lord your God,

who has worked wonders^g for you;

never again will my people be shamed.^h

²⁷Then you will knowⁱ that I am in Israel,

that I am the Lord^j your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed.^k

The Day of the Lord

²⁸“And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit^l on all people.^m

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,ⁿ

your old men will dream dreams,^o

your young men will see visions.

²⁹Even on my servants,^p both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.^q

³⁰I will show wonders in the heavens^r

and on the earth,^s

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

³¹The sun will be turned to darkness^t

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.^u

³²And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord^v will be saved;^w

for on Mount Zion^x and in Jerusalem

there will be deliverance,^y

as the Lord has said,

even among the survivors^z

whom the Lord calls.^ca

The Nations Judged

3^a“In those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes^b of Judah^c and Jerusalem,

²I will gather^d all nations

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.^be

There I will put them on trial^f

for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered^g my people among the nations

and divided up my land.

³They cast lots^h for my people

and traded boys for prostitutes;

they sold girls for wineⁱ to drink.

⁴“Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon^j and all you regions of Philistia?^k Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done.^{l 5}For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples.^{cm 6}You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks,ⁿ that you might send them far from their homeland.

⁷“See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them,^o and I will return^p on your own heads what you have done. ⁸I will sell your sons^q and daughters to the people of Judah,^r and they will sell them to the Sabeans,^s a nation far away.” The Lord has spoken.^t

⁹Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare for war!^u

Rouse the warriors!^v

Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

¹⁰Beat your plowshares into swords

and your pruning hooks^w into spears.^x

Let the weakling^y say,

“I am strong!”^z

¹¹Come quickly, all you nations from every side,

and assemble^a there.

Bring down your warriors,^b Lord!

¹²“Let the nations be roused;

let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat,^c

for there I will sit

to judge^d all the nations on every side.

¹³Swing the sickle,^e

for the harvest^f is ripe.

Come, trample the grapes,^g

for the winepress^h is full

and the vats overflow—

so great is their wickedness!”

¹⁴Multitudes,ⁱ multitudes

in the valley^j of decision!

For the day of the Lord^k is near

in the valley of decision.^l

¹⁵The sun and moon will be darkened,

and the stars no longer shine.^m

¹⁶The Lord will roarⁿ from Zion

and thunder from Jerusalem;^o

the earth and the heavens will tremble.^p

But the Lord will be a refuge^q for his people,

a stronghold^r for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

¹⁷“Then you will know^s that I, the Lord your God,^t

dwell in Zion,^u my holy hill.^v

Jerusalem will be holy;^w

never again will foreigners invade her.^x

¹⁸“In that day the mountains will drip new wine,^y

and the hills will flow with milk;^z

all the ravines of Judah will run with water.^a

A fountain will flow out of the Lord’s house^b

and will water the valley of acacias.^dc

¹⁹But Egypt^d will be desolate,

Edom^e a desert waste,

because of violence^f done to the people of Judah,

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰Judah will be inhabited forever^g

and Jerusalem through all generations.

²¹Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged?^h

No, I will not.ⁱ”

The Lord dwells in Zion!^j