Joel 2:1-9 ▼

1 Blow the ram’s 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 total darkness, 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 devours in front of them, and behind them a flame blazes. 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 proceeds on his own path. They dodge the arrows, never stopping.

9 They storm the city; they run on the wall; they climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like thieves.