1 Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who live in the land tremble for the day of the Lord* The day of the Lord is the time of God's judgment. is coming—it's definitely near! 2 It's a gloomy day of darkness, a day of thick clouds and heavy shadows. Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, an army appears,† While the initial focus in Joel is on a devastating plague of locusts, what follows in chapter 2 morphs into a picture of an invading human army. so large and powerful that there has never ever been anything like it before, nor will there ever be anything like it again. 3 Fire blazes in front of them, behind them flames are burning. In front of them the land looks like the Garden of Eden, behind them is a desert of total desolation: not a single survivor remains. 4 They have the appearance of horses; they charge like cavalry. 5 Listen to the sound: they are like rumbling chariots leaping over the mountain tops, they are like crackling flames burning stubble, they are like a mighty army marching in formation into battle. 6 Terror seizes all those in their path; all the people's faces grow pale. 7 They attack like mighty warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march as one, never breaking ranks. 8 They do not jostle one another, they stay on track; and even if some are cut down, they are not stopped. 9 They rush to and fro in the city; they run along the walls;‡ The fact that they can do this shows that the city's defenders are dead. they climb into houses, entering through the windows like thieves.

10 The earth quakes before them, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, the stars stop shining. 11 The Lord shouts his commands at the head of his army. His camp his immense, and those who carry out his orders are powerful. The day of the Lord is totally terrifying—who can stand it?

12 “Yet even now,” says the Lord, “Come back to me while there is still time. Come to me with all your heart, with fasting and prayer. 13 Repent in your minds, and not by tearing your clothes.”§ Tearing one's clothes was a sign of intense emotion, grief, and repentance. Come back to the Lord your God for he is gracious and kind. He is slow to get angry and full of faithful love, and changes his mind about sending punishment. 14 Who knows? Maybe he will change his mind, leaving behind a blessing so that you will be able to make grain and wine offerings to the Lord your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion! Proclaim a fast; call a solemn assembly. 16 Gather the people together: the elders, the children, even the babies. Let the bridegroom leave his room; let the bride leave her room. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar of the Temple.* “Of the Temple”: implied. Let them say, “Lord, please take pity on your people, and do not let your inheritance be disgraced, ruled over by foreign nations, so that the people of these nations could ask, ‘Where is their God?’ ”

18 Now the Lord is very protective† Or “jealous.” of his land and takes pity on his people. 19 The Lord will reply, saying to his people, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, and you will be satisfied. You will no longer be a disgrace among the foreign nations.

20 I will remove from you the army from the north; I will drive them into the desolate wilderness—the front into the eastern sea, and the rear into the western sea. The stench of the dead army‡ “Of the dead army”: implied. will rise up—a real stink—for it has done terrible things.”

21 Don't be afraid, people of the land! Be happy and celebrate, for the Lord has done incredible things! 22 Don't be afraid, wild animals! For the pastures of the wilderness are turning green. The trees are fruiting again—the fig trees and the grapevines are producing a good crop.

23 People of Jerusalem! Celebrate and be happy in the Lord your God because he has given you rain to show his goodness. As before he sends the autumn and the spring rains. 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil. 25 “I will give back to you what you lost over the years to the swarming, hopping, destroying, and cutting locusts, this great army that I sent against you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, and you will be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God who has done miracles for you. My people will never again be ashamed. 27 You will know that I am in the midst of my people Israel, that I am the Lord your God, and that there is no other. My people will never again be ashamed.

28 After this I will pour out my spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will be my prophets, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. 29 In those days I will also pour out my spirit on male slaves and female slaves. 30 I will place wonders in the heavens and on earth: blood, and fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will turn dark, and the moon will turn red like blood at the coming of the great and fearful day of the Lord.” 32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, rescued from Mount Zion and Jerusalem, as the Lord has said—these are among the survivors the Lord has called.