Joel 2:1-17

1Blow the trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment], Sound an alarm on My holy mountain [Zion]! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear, For the [judgment] day of the Lord is coming; It is close at hand,

2A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist, Like the dawn spread over the mountains; There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty, The like of which has never been before Nor will be again afterward Even for years of many generations.

3Before them a fire devours, And behind them a flame burns; Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden, But behind them a desolate wilderness; And nothing at all escapes them.

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

5Like the noise of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, Like a mighty people set in battle formation.

6Before them the people are in anguish; All faces become pale [with terror].

7They run like warriors; They climb the wall like soldiers. They each march [straight ahead] in line, And they do not deviate from their paths.

8They do not crowd each other; Each one marches in his path. When they burst through the defenses (weapons), They do not break ranks.

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

10The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

11The Lord utters His voice before His army, For His camp is very great, Because strong and powerful is he who [obediently] carries out His word. For the day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible [causing dread]; Who can endure it?

12“Even now,” says the Lord, “Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance], With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored];

13Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.” Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people]; And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].

14Who knows whether He will relent [and revoke your sentence], And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering [from the bounty He provides you] For the Lord your God?

15Blow a trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment], Dedicate a fast [as a day of restraint and humility], call a solemn assembly.

16Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders, Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber. [No one is excused from the assembly.]

17Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Have compassion and spare Your people, O Lord, And do not make Your inheritance (Israel) an object of ridicule, Or a [humiliating] byword among the [Gentile] nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ”