Joel 2:1-10 ▼

1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And make a loud shout on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of Yahweh is coming; Surely it is near,

2 A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of clouds and dense gloom. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a numerous and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it For the years from generation to generation.

3 A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.

5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consumes the stubble, Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

6 Before them the peoples are writhing; All faces turn pale.

7 They run like mighty men; They climb up the wall like men of war; And they each march in line, And they do not deviate from their paths.

8 They do not crowd each other; They march everyone in his path; When they fall against the defending weapons, They do not break ranks.

9 They rush on the city; They run on the wall; They climb up into the houses; They enter through the windows like a thief.

10 Before them the earth trembles; The heavens quake; The sun and the moon grow dark, And the stars lose their brightness.