Joel 2

The approaching day

1Blow the ram’s horn in Zion!
Sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let everyone living in the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near. 2A day of darkness and gloom,
a day of cloud and thick darkness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains
comes a vast and powerful people.
Nothing like it has ever been,
nor will be again for generations to come. 3Fire devours ahead of them;
flame burns behind them.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden;
behind them, a desolate wilderness.
Nothing escapes them. 4They look like horses;
they run like cavalry. 5With a sound like chariots they leap over the mountaintops,
like the crackle of flame consuming stubble,
like a powerful people drawn up for battle. 6Peoples writhe before them;
every face loses its color. 7They run like warriors
and scale a wall like soldiers.
Each keeps to its own path;
they do not swerve from their routes. 8They do not jostle one another;
each moves in its own lane.
They plunge through the weapons
and are not stopped. 9They rush upon the city,
run along the wall,
climb into the houses,
and enter through the windows like a thief. 10Before them the earth shakes
and the heavens tremble.
Sun and moon grow dark;
the stars withdraw their light. 11The LORD raises his voice before his army.
His camp is vast;
powerful is the one who carries out his word.
The day of the LORD is great and deeply terrifying—
who can endure it?

Return with all your heart

12“Even now,” declares the LORD,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” 13Tear your hearts, not your clothes,
and return to the LORD your God.
He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and he relents from bringing disaster. 14Who knows? He may turn and relent
and leave a blessing behind him—
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the LORD your God. 15Blow the ram’s horn in Zion!
Set apart a fast;
call a solemn assembly. 16Gather the people;
set apart the congregation.
Assemble the elders;
gather children and nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her wedding chamber. 17Between the porch and the altar,
let the priests who serve the LORD weep.
Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD.
Do not make your inheritance a disgrace,
for nations to rule over them.
Why should the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

The LORD answers

18Then the LORD became zealous for his land
and had compassion on his people. 19The LORD answered his people:
“I am sending you grain, new wine, and oil,
and you will have enough.
I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations. 20I will drive the northern one far from you
and thrust it into a dry, desolate land,
its front into the eastern sea
and its rear into the western sea.
Its stench will rise, its foul smell will go up,
for it has done great things.” 21Do not fear, ground!
Celebrate and rejoice,
for the LORD has done great things. 22Do not fear, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures are green.
The trees bear fruit;
fig tree and vine give their full yield. 23Children of Zion, celebrate and rejoice
in the LORD your God.
He has given you the autumn rain in righteousness;
he sends rain down for you,
autumn and spring rain as before. 24The threshing floors will be full of grain;
the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 25“I will repay you for the years eaten by
the swarming locust, the creeping locust,
the stripping locust, and the cutting locust—
my great army that I sent against you. 26You will eat your fill
and praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has done wonders for you.
My people will never again be put to shame. 27You will know that I am among Israel,
that I am the LORD your God and there is no other.
My people will never again be put to shame.

The Spirit poured out

28Afterward I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy;
your old men will dream dreams;
your young men will see visions. 29Even on male and female slaves
I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30I will display wonders in the heavens and on earth:
blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31The sun will turn to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the great and terrifying day of the LORD comes. 32Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will escape,
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
and among the survivors will be those the LORD calls.