Joel 2:1-8 ▼

1 Blow the horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; in fact, it is near—

2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense overcast, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people appears, such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come.

3 A fire destroys in front of them, and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them.

4 Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like war horses.

5 They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war.

6 Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale.

7 They attack as warriors attack; they scale walls as men of war do. Each goes on his own path, and they do not change their course.

8 They do not push each other; each man proceeds on his own path. They dodge the arrows, never stopping.