Joel 2
1 Let the horn be sounded in Zion, and a war-cry in my holy mountain; let all the people of the land be troubled: for the day of the Lord is coming;
Blow trumpets on Zion [Hill], God’s sacred hill [in Jerusalem]! Tell the people of Judah that they should tremble, because it will soon be the time for Yahweh [to punish us further].
2 For a day of dark and deep shade is near, a day of cloud and black night: like a black cloud a great and strong people is covering the mountains; there has never been any like them and will not be after them again, from generation to generation.
[That will be a very] dark and gloomy day; there will be [black] clouds and it will be very dark. A huge [swarm of locusts] has covered the mountains like [SIM] a black [cloud]. Nothing like this has ever happened before, and nothing like this will ever [happen] again.
3 Before them fire sends destruction, and after them flame is burning: the land is like the garden of Eden before them, and after them an unpeopled waste; truly, nothing has been kept safe from them.
[It is as though the locusts bring] flames of fire from which no one can escape. In front of them, the land was [beautiful] like [SIM] the garden of Eden, but behind them [the land is like] a desert and nothing survives.
4 Their form is like the form of horses, and they are running like war-horses.
[The locusts] resemble horses, and they run like [SIM] war horses.
5 Like the sound of war-carriages they go jumping on the tops of the mountains; like the noise of a flame of fire burning up the grain-stems, like a strong people lined up for the fight.
Leaping over the mountaintops, they make a noise like rumbling chariots, like [SIM] a mighty army that is preparing for a battle, or like [SIM] the roar of a fire that burns up stubble [in a field].
6 At their coming the people are bent with pain: all faces become red together.
When people see them coming, they become very pale and frightened.
7 They are running like strong men, they go over the wall like men of war; every man goes straight on his way, their lines are not broken.
[The locusts] climb over walls like soldiers do; they march along in columns and never turn aside [from their columns].
8 No one is pushing against another; everyone goes straight on his way: bursting through the sword points, their order is not broken.
They rush straight ahead without pushing each other. [Even though people throw] spears and javelins at them, that will not cause them to stop.
9 They make a rush on the town, running on the wall; they go up into the houses and in through the windows like a thief.
They swarm over the city walls and enter our houses; they enter through our windows like [SIM] thieves do.
10 The earth is troubled before them and the heavens are shaking: the sun and the moon have become dark, and the stars keep back their shining:
[It is as though] they cause the earth to shake and the sky to tremble. The sun and the moon become dark and the stars do not shine [because there are so many locusts in the sky].
11 And the Lord is thundering before his forces; for very great is his army; for he is strong who gives effect to his word: for the day of the Lord is great and greatly to be feared, and who has strength against it?
Yahweh leads this army [of countless locusts], and they obey his commands. This time when he is judging and punishing us is very terrible, [with the result that it seems that] no one [RHQ] can survive it.
12 But even now, says the Lord, come back to me with all your heart, keeping from food, with weeping and with sorrow:
But Yahweh says, “In spite of [these disasters that you have experienced], you can return to me with all your inner beings. Weep, and mourn, and (fast/abstain from eating food) [to show that you are sorry for having abandoned me].
13 Let your hearts be broken, and not your clothing, and come back to the Lord your God: for he is full of grace and pity, slow to be angry and great in mercy, ready to be turned from his purpose of punishment.
Do not tear your clothes [to show that you are sorry]; instead, show [MET] that you are sorry.” Yahweh is merciful and kind; he does not quickly become angry; he faithfully loves [people]. He does not quickly become angry; instead, he greatly and faithfully loves [you], and he does not like to punish you.
14 May it not be that he will again let his purpose be changed and let a blessing come after him, even a meal offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?
No one knows [RHQ] if he will change his mind [about punishing you] and if instead he will act mercifully [toward you]. If he does that, he will bless you [by giving you plenty of grain and wine] in order that you can offer [some of] those things as sacrifices to him.
15 Let a horn be sounded in Zion, let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting:
Blow the trumpets on Zion [Hill]! Gather the people together! Show by fasting that you are sorry [for the sins that you have committed].
16 Get the people together, make the mass of the people holy, send for the old men, get together the children and babies at the breast: let the newly married man come out of his room and the bride from her tent.
Perform the rituals to cause yourselves to be acceptable to Yahweh. Gather everyone together— the old people and the children, even the babies, and summon brides and bridegrooms from their rooms.
17 Let the priests, the servants of the Lord, be weeping between the covered way and the altar, and let them say, Have mercy on your people, O Lord, do not give up your heritage to shame, so that the nations become their rulers: why let them say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Tell the priests who serve Yahweh to cry between the altar and the entrance to the temple and to pray [this]: “Yahweh, rescue/save [us] your people; do not allow people from other nations to despise us; do not allow them to ridicule us and say, ‘Why has [RHQ] their God [abandoned them]?’”
18 Then the Lord had a care for the honour of his land and had pity on his people.
But Yahweh [showed that he] was concerned about his people and that he would act mercifully toward them.
19 And the Lord made answer and said to his people, See, I will send you grain and wine and oil in full measure: and I will no longer let you be shamed among the nations:
When the people prayed, Yahweh answered and said, “I will give you [plenty of] grain and wine and [olive] oil, and you will be satisfied. And I will no longer allow other nations to insult you.
20 I will send the one from the north far away from you, driving him into a dry and waste land, with his front to the sea of the east and his back to the sea of the west, and the smell of him will go up, even his evil smell will go up.
Another army [of locusts will come] from the north [to attack you], but I will force them to continue [past Jerusalem] into the desert. Some will go into the Dead Sea in the east and some will go into the [Mediterranean] Sea in the west. [There] they will [all die, and their bodies] will stink.” Yahweh does great things!
21 Have no fear, O land; be glad with great joy; for the Lord has done great things.
He does wonderful things! So even the ground should rejoice!
22 Have no fear, you beasts of the field, for the grass-lands of the waste are becoming green, for the trees are producing fruit, the fig-tree and the vine give out their strength.
And the wild animals should not be afraid, because the meadows will soon become green again; the fig trees and [other] trees will be full of fruit, and the grapevines will be covered with grapes.
23 Be glad, then, you children of Zion, and have joy in the Lord your God: for he gives you food in full measure, making the rain come down for you, the early and the late rain as at the first.
You people of Jerusalem, rejoice about what Yahweh, your God, [will be doing for you]. He will send abundant rain at the (right time/time when it is needed)— (in the spring/early in the year) and (in the autumn/late in the year) like he did previously.
24 And the floors will be full of grain, and the crushing-places overflowing with wine and oil.
The ground where you thresh the grain will be covered with grain, and your vats where you store grape juice and [olive] oil will be full.
25 I will give back to you the years which were food for the locust, the plant-worm, the field-fly, and the worm, my great army which I sent among you.
[Yahweh said, ] “I will repay you for everything that was destroyed by those great swarms of locusts that I sent to attack you.
26 You will have food in full measure, and give praise to the name of the Lord your God, who has done wonders for you:
You, my people, will eat until your stomachs are full. Then you will praise me [MTY], Yahweh, your God, for the wonderful things that I have done for you. And never again will you be disgraced.
27 And you will be certain that I am in Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other: and my people will never be shamed.
When that happens, you will know that I am [always] among you, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and that there is no other [God]. Never again will you be disgraced.”
28 And after that, it will come about, says the Lord, that I will send my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will be prophets, your old men will have dreams, your young men will see visions:
“Some time later, I will give my Spirit to many [HYP] people. Your sons and daughters will proclaim messages that come directly from me. Your old men will have dreams [that come from me], and your young men will have visions [that come from me].
29 And on the servants and the servant-girls in those days I will send my spirit.
At that time, I will give my Spirit even to servants, both men and women.
30 And I will let wonders be seen in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
I will do unusual/amazing things on the earth and in the sky. [On the earth] [CHI], there will be much blood [shed] and [there will be very large] fires and smoke that resembles huge clouds.
31 The sun will be made dark and the moon turned to blood, before the great day of the Lord comes, a day to be feared.
[In the sky, ] the sun will become dark and the moon will become [as red as] [MET] blood. [Those things will happen] before that great and terrible day when [I], Yahweh, appear.
32 And it will be that whoever makes his prayer to the name of the Lord will be kept safe: for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem some will be kept safe, as the Lord has said, and will be among the small band marked out by the Lord.
But at that time [I] will save everyone who worships me. I promise that some people in Jerusalem [DOU] will escape [those disasters]; those whom I have chosen will survive.”
