The Locusts’ Devastation

2:1 Blow the trumpet1 in Zion;

sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,

for the day of the Lord is about to come.

Indeed,2 it is near!3

2:2 It will be4 a day of dreadful darkness,5

a day of foreboding storm clouds,6

like blackness7 spread over the mountains.

It is a huge and powerful army8—

there has never been anything like it ever before,

and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!9

2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path;10

a flame blazes behind them.

The land looks like the Garden of Eden11 before them,

but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness—

for nothing escapes them!12

2:4 They look like horses;13

they charge ahead like war horses.

2:5 They sound like14 chariots rumbling15 over mountain tops,

like the crackling16 of blazing fire consuming stubble,

like the noise of17 a mighty army18 being drawn up for battle.19

2:6 People20 writhe in fear when they see them.21

All of their faces turn pale with fright.22

2:7 They23 charge24 like warriors;

they scale walls like soldiers.25

Each one proceeds on his course;

they do not alter26 their path.

2:8 They do not jostle one another;27

each of them marches straight ahead.28

They burst through29 the city defenses30

and do not break ranks.

2:9 They rush into31 the city;

they scale32 its walls.

They climb up into the houses;

they go in through the windows like a thief.

2:10 The earth quakes33 before them;34

the sky reverberates.35

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine.36

2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders37 as he leads his army.38

Indeed, his warriors39 are innumerable;40

Surely his command is carried out!41

Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome42

and very terrifying—who can survive43 it?