Joel 2

1 Sound the trumpet in Sion, make a proclamation in my holy mountain, and let all the inhabitants of the land be confounded: for the day of the Lord is near;

Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who live in the land tremble for the day of the Lord is coming—it's definitely near!

2 for a day of darkness and gloominess is near, a day of cloud and mist: a numerous and strong people shall be spread upon the mountains as the morning; there has not been from the beginning one like it, and after it there shall not be again even to the years of many generations.

It's a gloomy day of darkness, a day of thick clouds and heavy shadows. Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, an army appears, so large and powerful that there has never ever been anything like it before, nor will there ever be anything like it again.

3 Before them is a consuming fire, and behind them is a flame kindled: the land before them is as a paradise of delight, and behind them a desolate plain: and there shall none of them escape.

Fire blazes in front of them, behind them flames are burning. In front of them the land looks like the Garden of Eden, behind them is a desert of total desolation: not a single survivor remains.

4 Their appearance is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they pursue.

They have the appearance of horses; they charge like cavalry.

5 As the sound of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, and as the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble, and as a numerous and strong people setting themselves in array for battle.

Listen to the sound: they are like rumbling chariots leaping over the mountain tops, they are like crackling flames burning stubble, they are like a mighty army marching in formation into battle.

6 Before them shall the people be crushed: every face [shall be] as the blackness of a caldron.

Terror seizes all those in their path; all the people's faces grow pale.

7 As warriors shall they run, and as men of war shall they mount on the walls; and each shall move in his [right] path, and they shall not turn aside from their tracks:

They attack like mighty warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march as one, never breaking ranks.

8 and not one shall stand aloof from his brother: they shall go on weighed down with their arms, and they fall upon their weapons, yet shall they in no wise be destroyed.

They do not jostle one another, they stay on track; and even if some are cut down, they are not stopped.

9 They shall seize upon the city, and run upon the walls, and go up upon the houses, and enter in through the windows as thieves.

They rush to and fro in the city; they run along the walls; they climb into houses, entering through the windows like thieves.

10 Before them the earth shall be confounded, and the sky shall be shaken: the sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light.

The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, the stars stop shining.

11 And the Lord shall utter his voice before his host: for his camp is very great: for the execution of his words is mighty: for the day of the Lord is great, very glorious, and who shall be able to [resist] it?

The Lord shouts his commands at the head of his army. His camp his immense, and those who carry out his orders are powerful. The day of the Lord is totally terrifying—who can stand it?

12 Now therefore, saith the Lord your God, turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with lamentation:

“Yet even now,” says the Lord, “Come back to me while there is still time. Come to me with all your heart, with fasting and prayer.

13 and rend your hearts, and not your garments, and turn to the Lord your God: for he is merciful and compassionate, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy, and repents of evils.

Repent in your minds, and not by tearing your clothes.” Come back to the Lord your God for he is gracious and kind. He is slow to get angry and full of faithful love, and changes his mind about sending punishment.

14 Who knows if he will return, and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat-offering and a drink-offering to the Lord your God?

Who knows? Maybe he will change his mind, leaving behind a blessing so that you will be able to make grain and wine offerings to the Lord your God.

15 Sound the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, proclaim a [solemn] service:

Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast; call a solemn assembly.

16 gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the infants at the breast: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.

Gather the people together: the elders, the children, even the babies. Let the bridegroom leave his room; let the bride leave her room.

17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests that minister to the Lord weep, and say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them, lest they should say among the heathen, Where is their God?

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar of the Temple. Let them say, “Lord, please take pity on your people, and do not let your inheritance be disgraced, ruled over by foreign nations, so that the people of these nations could ask, ‘Where is their God?’”

18 But the Lord was jealous of his land, and spared his people.

Now the Lord is very protective of his land and takes pity on his people.

19 And the Lord answered and said to his people, Behold, I [will] send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied with them: and I will no longer make you a reproach among the Gentiles.

The Lord will reply, saying to his people, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, and you will be satisfied. You will no longer be a disgrace among the foreign nations.

20 And I will chase away from you the northern [adversary], and will drive him away into a dry land, and I will sink his face in the former sea, and his back parts in the latter sea, and his ill savour shall come up, and his stink come up, because he has wrought great things.

I will remove from you the army from the north; I will drive them into the desolate wilderness—the front into the eastern sea, and the rear into the western sea. The stench of the dead army will rise up—a real stink—for it has done terrible things.”

21 Be of good courage, O land; rejoice and be glad: for the Lord has done great things.

Don't be afraid, people of the land! Be happy and celebrate, for the Lord has done incredible things!

22 Be of good courage, ye beasts of the plain, for the plains of the wilderness have budded, for the trees have borne their fruit, the fig tree and the vine have yielded their strength.

Don't be afraid, wild animals! For the pastures of the wilderness are turning green. The trees are fruiting again—the fig trees and the grapevines are producing a good crop.

23 Rejoice then and be glad, ye children of Sion, in the Lord your God: for he has given you food fully, and he will rain on you the early and the latter rain, as before.

People of Jerusalem! Celebrate and be happy in the Lord your God because he has given you rain to show his goodness. As before he sends the autumn and the spring rains.

24 And the floors shall be filled with corn, and the presses shall overflow with wine and oil.

The threshing floors will be full of grain, the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

25 And I will recompense you for the years which the locust, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, and the cankerworm have eaten, [even] my great army, which I sent against you.

“I will give back to you what you lost over the years to the swarming, hopping, destroying, and cutting locusts, this great army that I sent against you.

26 And ye shall eat abundantly, and be satisfied, and shall praise the name of the Lord your God [for the things] which he has wrought wonderfully with you: and my people shall not be ashamed for ever.

You will have plenty to eat, and you will be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God who has done miracles for you. My people will never again be ashamed.

27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and [that] I am the Lord your God, and [that] there is none else beside me; and my people shall no more be ashamed for ever.

You will know that I am in the midst of my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other. My people will never again be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

After this I will pour out my spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will be my prophets, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.

29 And on my servants and on [my] handmaids in those days will I pour out of my Spirit.

In those days I will also pour out my spirit on male slaves and female slaves.

30 And I will shew wonders in heaven, and upon the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

I will place wonders in the heavens and on earth: blood, and fire, and columns of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord come.

The sun will turn dark, and the moon will turn red like blood at the coming of the great and fearful day of the Lord.”

32 And it shall come to pass [that] whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved: for in mount Sion and in Jerusalem shall the saved one be as the Lord has said, and they that have glad tidings preached to them, whom the Lord has called.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, rescued from Mount Zion and Jerusalem, as the Lord has said—these are among the survivors the Lord has called.