Joel 2:1-14

New King James Version

The Day of the Lord

2 Blow ^(A)the ^[a]trumpet in Zion,
And ^(B)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For ^(C)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
²^(D)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
^(E)A people come, great and strong,
^(F)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.

³A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like ^(G)the Garden of Eden before them,
^(H)And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
⁴^(I)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like ^[b]swift steeds, so they run.
⁵^(J)With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.

⁶Before them the people writhe in pain;
^(K)All faces ^[c]are drained of color.
⁷They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ^(L)ranks.
⁸They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own ^[d]column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not ^[e]cut down.
⁹They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They ^(M)enter at the windows ^(N)like a thief.

¹⁰^(O)The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
^(P)The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
¹¹^(Q)The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
^(R)For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the ^(S)day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
^(T)Who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

¹²“Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
^(U)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
¹³So ^(V)rend your heart, and not ^(W)your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^(X)gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
¹⁴^(Y)Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave ^(Z)a blessing behind Him—
^(AA)A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?