Joel 2

1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble! For the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is near!

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;

2 A day of darkness, and gloominess, A day of clouds, and thick darkness. As the morning light spreadeth itself upon the mountains, There cometh a numerous people and a strong; Like them there have been none of old time, And after them there shall not be, Even to the years of many generations.

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.

3 A fire devoureth before them, And behind them a flame burneth; The land is as the garden of Eden before them. And behind them a desolate wilderness! Yea, nothing escapeth them.

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.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, And like horsemen do they run;

Their form is like the form of horses, and they are running like war-horses.

5 Like rattling chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains; Like the crackling flame of fire, which devoureth stubble; Like a mighty host set in battle array.

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.

6 Before them the people tremble, And all faces gather blackness.

At their coming the people are bent with pain: all faces become red together.

7 They run like mighty men; They climb the wall like warriors; They march every one on his way; They change not their paths.

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.

8 One doth not thrust another; They march every one in his path, And though they rush among weapons, they are not wounded.

No one is pushing against another; everyone goes straight on his way: bursting through the sword points, their order is not broken.

9 They run through the city; They run upon the wall; They go up into the houses; They enter in at the windows, like a thief.

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.

10 The earth quaketh before them, And the heavens tremble; The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining.

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:

11 Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; For very great is his host; Yea, it is mighty, executing his word; The day of Jehovah is great, and very terrible; Who shall be able to bear it?

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?

12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, Turn ye to me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning!

But even now, says the Lord, come back to me with all your heart, keeping from food, with weeping and with sorrow:

13 And rend your hearts, and not your garments, And turn to Jehovah your God, For he is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness, And repenteth of a threatened evil.

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.

14 Who knoweth but he will turn and repent, And leave a blessing behind him, Even a flour-offering and a drink-offering for Jehovah your God.

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?

15 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Appoint yea fast; proclaim a solemn assembly!

Let a horn be sounded in Zion, let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting:

16 Gather the people; appoint a congregation; Assemble the elders; Gather the children and the sucklings! Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber, And the bride from her nuptial bed!

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.

17 Let the priests, the servants of Jehovah, Weep between the porch and the altar, And say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, And give not thine inheritance to reproach, And to be a by-word to the nations! Why should they say among the nations, Where is their God?

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?

18 Then will Jehovah be zealous for his land, And have compassion on his people,

Then the Lord had a care for the honour of his land and had pity on his people.

19 Yea, Jehovah will answer, and say to his people, Behold, I will send you corn, And new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; And I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

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:

20 I will remove far from you the northern host, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land; Its van toward the Eastern sea, And its rear toward the Western sea. And its scent shall come up, And its ill savor shall come up, Because it hath done great things.

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.

21 Fear not, O land, exult and rejoice, For Jehovah hath done great things!

Have no fear, O land; be glad with great joy; for the Lord has done great things.

22 Fear not, O ye beasts of the field, For the pastures of the desert spring up, For the tree beareth its fruit; The fig-tree and the vine yield their strength!

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.

23 And, O ye sons of Zion, exult, And rejoice in Jehovah your God! For he giveth you the former rain in just measure, And causeth showers to come down upon you, Even the former rain, and the latter rain, as aforetime.

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.

24 And the threshing-floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

And the floors will be full of grain, and the crushing-places overflowing with wine and oil.

25 And I will restore to you the years Which the swarming-locust hath eaten, The licking-locust, the consuming-locust, and the gnawing-locusts, My great army, which I sent among you.

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.

26 Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, And praise the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt wondrously with you; And my people shall never be put to shame.

You will have food in full measure, and give praise to the name of the Lord your God, who has done wonders for you:

27 Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Jehovah, your God, and none else; And my people shall never be put to shame.

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.

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

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:

29 Upon the men-servants also, and upon the handmaids, Will I pour out my spirit in those days.

And on the servants and the servant-girls in those days I will send my spirit.

30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; Blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.

And I will let wonders be seen in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of Jehovah cometh, The great and the terrible day. Then whoever calleth on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered;

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.

32 For upon mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall be deliverance, As Jehovah hath spoken; And among the remnant, whom Jehovah shall call.

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.