Joel 1:15–2:11

¹⁵The day of the Lord is near,

the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.

How terrible that day will be!

¹⁶Our food disappears before our very eyes.

No joyful celebrations are held in the house of our God.

¹⁷The seeds die in the parched ground,

and the grain crops fail.

The barns stand empty,

and granaries are abandoned.

¹⁸How the animals moan with hunger!

The herds of cattle wander about confused,

because they have no pasture.

The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery.

¹⁹Lord, help us!

The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures,

and flames have burned up all the trees.

²⁰Even the wild animals cry out to you

because the streams have dried up,

and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.

Chapter 2

Locusts Invade like an Army

¹Sound 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.

²It 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.

³Fire 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.

⁴They look like horses;

they charge forward like warhorses.

⁵Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.

Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,

like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,

or like a mighty army moving into battle.

⁶Fear grips all the people;

every face grows pale with terror.

⁷The attackers march like warriors

and scale city walls like soldiers.

Straight forward they march,

never breaking rank.

⁸They never jostle each other;

each moves in exactly the right position.

They break through defenses

without missing a step.

⁹They swarm over the city

and run along its walls.

They enter all the houses,

climbing like thieves through the windows.

¹⁰The earth quakes as they advance,

and the heavens tremble.

The sun and moon grow dark,

and the stars no longer shine.

¹¹The Lord is at the head of the column.

He leads them with a shout.

This is his mighty army,

and they follow his orders.

The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing.

Who can possibly survive?