Joel 2:1-17

GOD’S WORD Translation

³ In front of this army a fire burns.
Behind it flames are blazing.
In front of it the land is like the garden of Eden.
Behind it the land is like a barren desert.
Nothing escapes it!

⁴ The soldiers look like horses.
They run like war horses.
⁵ As they leap on mountaintops,
they sound like rattling chariots,
like crackling fire burning up straw,
and like a mighty army prepared for battle.

⁶ People are terrified in their presence.
Every face turns pale.

⁷ They run like warriors.
They climb walls like soldiers.
They march straight ahead.
They do not leave their places.
⁸ They do not crowd one another.
They keep in their own lines.
Even when they break through the defenses,
they do not break their ranks.
⁹ They rush into the city.
They run along the wall.
They climb into houses.
They enter through windows like thieves.

¹⁰ The earth quakes in their presence,
and the sky shakes.
The sun and the moon turn dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
¹¹ The Lord shouts out orders to his army.
His forces are very large.
The troops that carry out his commands are mighty.
The day of the Lord is extremely terrifying.
Who can endure it?

¹³ Tear your hearts, not your clothes.
Return to the Lord your God.
He is merciful and compassionate,
patient, and always ready to forgive
and to change his plans about disaster.
¹⁴ Who knows?
He may reconsider and change his plan
and leave a blessing for you.
Then you could give grain offerings and wine offerings
to the Lord your God.

¹⁵ Blow the ram’s horn in Zion.
Schedule a time to fast.
Call for an assembly.
¹⁶ Gather the people.
Prepare them for a holy meeting.
Assemble the leaders.
Gather the children, even the nursing infants.

Grooms leave their rooms.
Brides leave their chambers.
¹⁷ The priests who serve the Lord cry
between the altar and the entrance to the temple.
They say,
“Spare your people, O Lord.
Don’t let the people who belong to you become a disgrace.
Don’t let the nations ridicule them.
Why should people ask, ‘Where is their God?’ ”