Joel
2 “Blow a horn in Zion!+
Shout a war cry in my holy mountain.
2 It is a day of darkness and gloom,+
A day of clouds and thick gloom,+
Like light of dawn spreading out on the mountains.
There is a people numerous and mighty;+
Never before has there been one like it,
And never again will there be another
Through the years of all generations.
3 Ahead of it a fire devours,
And behind it a flame consumes.+
The land ahead of it is like the garden of Eʹden,+
But behind it is a desolate wilderness,
And nothing can escape.
4 Its appearance is like the appearance of horses,
And they run like warhorses.+
5 The sound is like that of chariots as they leap on the mountaintops,+
Like the crackling of a blazing fire that consumes stubble.
It is like a mighty people drawn up in battle formation.+
6 Because of them, peoples will be in anguish.
Every face will grow flushed.
7 They charge like warriors,
They scale a wall like soldiers,
Each keeps to his own course,
And they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not shove one another;
Each man advances in his course.
If the weapons* cause some to fall,
The others do not break ranks.
9 Into the city they rush, on the wall they run.
Onto the houses they climb, through the windows they enter like a thief.
10 Before them the land trembles and the heavens rock.
Sun and moon have become dark,+
And the stars have lost their brightness.
11 Jehovah will raise his voice before his army,+ for his camp is very numerous.+
For the one carrying out His word is mighty;
For the day of Jehovah is great and very awe-inspiring.+
Who can endure it?”+
12 “Yet even now,” declares Jehovah, “return to me with all your hearts,+
With fasting+ and weeping and wailing.
13 Rip apart your hearts,+ and not your garments,+
And return to Jehovah your God,
For he is compassionate* and merciful, slow to anger+ and abundant in loyal love,+
And he will reconsider* the calamity.
14 Who knows whether he will turn back and reconsider*+
And leave behind a blessing,
A grain offering and a drink offering for Jehovah your God?
15 Blow a horn in Zion!
Proclaim* a fast; call for a solemn assembly.+
16 Gather the people; sanctify the congregation.+
Collect the old men;* gather the children and nursing infants.+
Let the bridegroom go out from his inner chamber, and the bride from her bridal chamber.
17 Between the porch and the altar+
Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep and say:
‘Do feel pity, O Jehovah, for your people;
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
Letting the nations rule over them.
Why should the peoples say, “Where is their God?”’+
18 Then Jehovah will be zealous for his land
And show compassion on his people.+
19 Jehovah will answer his people:
‘Here I am sending to you grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be fully satisfied;+
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.+
20 I will drive the northerner far away from you;
I will disperse him to a dry and desolate wasteland,
With his vanguard* toward the eastern sea*
And his rear guard toward the western sea.*
The foul smell from him will ascend,
The stench from him will keep ascending;+
For He will do great things.’
21 Do not be afraid, O land.
Be joyful and rejoice, for Jehovah will do great things.
22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness will become green,+
And the trees will bear fruit;+
The fig tree and the vine must give their full yield.+
23 You sons of Zion, be joyful and rejoice in Jehovah your God;+
For he will give you the autumn rain in the right amount,
And he will send upon you a downpour,
The autumn rain and the spring rain, as before.+
24 The threshing floors will be full of pure grain,
And the presses will overflow with new wine and oil.+
25 And I will make compensation to you for the years
That the swarming locust, the unwinged locust, the voracious locust, and the devouring locust have eaten,
My great army that I sent among you.+
26 You will surely eat to satisfaction,+
And you will praise the name of Jehovah your God,+
Who has done wonders in your behalf;
My people will never again be put to shame.+
27 And you will have to know that I am in the midst of Israel+
And that I am Jehovah your God+—there is no other!
My people will never again be put to shame.
28 After that I will pour out my spirit+ on every sort of flesh,
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
And your young men will see visions.+
29 And even on my male slaves and female slaves
I will pour out my spirit in those days.