Joe 2 | NASB1995 | STEP | Blow a trumpet in Zion , And sound an alarm on My holy mountain ! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble , For the day of the Lord is coming ; Surely it is near ,

‏ Joel 2

The Terrible Visitation

1 ^aBlow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the ^bday of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of ^cdarkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a ^dgreat and mighty people;
There has ^enever been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
3 A ^ffire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is ^glike the garden of Eden before them
But a ^hdesolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their ⁱappearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 ^{▼▼ Lit Like the noise of chariots}With a ^knoise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the ^{▼▼ Lit noise}crackling of a ^mflame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in ⁿanguish;
All ^ofaces ^{▼▼ Or become flushed}turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each ^qmarch ^{▼▼ Lit in his ways}in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they ^{▼▼ Lit fall}burst through the ^{▼▼ Lit weapon, probably javelin}defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the ^uhouses,
They ^venter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth ^wquakes,
The heavens tremble,
The ^xsun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Lord ^yutters His voice before ^zHis army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For ^aastrong is he who carries out His word.
The ^abday of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And ^acwho can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
^ad“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with ^aefasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And ^afrend your heart and not ^agyour garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^ahgracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And ^airelenting of evil.
14 Who knows ^ajwhether He will not turn and relent
And leave a ^akblessing behind Him,
Even ^ala grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
15 ^amBlow a trumpet in Zion,
^anConsecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, ^aosanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the ^apbridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep ^aqbetween the porch and the altar,
And let them say, ^ar“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a ^asreproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
‘ ^atWhere is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

18 Then the Lord ^{▼▼ Or was zealous}will be ^avzealous for His land
And ^{▼▼ Or had pity}will have ^axpity on His people.
19 The Lord ^{▼▼ Or answered and said}will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to ^azsend you grain, new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with ^{▼▼ Lit it}them;
And I will ^bbnever again make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But I will remove the ^bcnorthern army far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the ^bdeastern sea,
And its rear guard into the ^bewestern sea.
And its ^bfstench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
For it has done great things.”

21 ^bgDo not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For the Lord has done ^bhgreat things.
22 Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the ^bipastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded ^{▼▼ Lit their wealth}in full.
23 So rejoice, O ^bksons of Zion,
And ^blbe glad in the Lord your God;
For He has ^bmgiven you ^{▼▼ I.e. autumn; or possibly the teacher for righteousness}the early rain for your vindication.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The ^{▼▼ I.e. autumn}early and ^{▼▼ I.e. spring
,} ^bqlatter rain ^{▼▼ So with ancient versions; Heb in the first}as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will ^bsoverflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming ^btlocust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
26 “You will have plenty to ^bueat and be satisfied
And ^bvpraise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has ^bwdealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will ^bxnever be put to shame.
27 “Thus you will ^byknow that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God,
And there is ^bzno other;
And My people will never be ^caput to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28 ^{▼▼ Ch 3:1 in Heb
,} ^cc“It will come about after this
That I will ^cdpour out My Spirit on all ^{▼▼ Lit flesh
,} ^cfmankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 “Even on the ^cgmale and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the Lord

30 “I will ^chdisplay wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
31 “The ^cisun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the ^cjgreat and awesome day of the Lord comes.
32 “And it will come about that ^ckwhoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be delivered;
For ^clon Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who ^cmescape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the ^cnsurvivors whom the Lord calls.