^3 (I)Fire devours before them,
    and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like ^(J)the garden of Eden before them,
    but ^(K)behind them a desolate wilderness,
    and nothing escapes them.

^4 (L)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
    and like war horses they run.
^5 (M)As with the rumbling of chariots,
    they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of ^(N)a flame of fire
    devouring the stubble,
^(O)like a powerful army
    drawn up for battle.

⁶ Before them peoples are in anguish;
    ^(P)all faces grow pale.
⁷ Like warriors they charge;
    like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
    they do not swerve from their paths.
⁸ They do not jostle one another;
    ^(Q)each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
    and are not halted.
^9 (R)They leap upon the city,
    they run upon the walls,
^(S)they climb up into the houses,
    ^(T)they enter through the windows ^(U)like a thief.

^10 (V)The earth quakes before them;
    the heavens tremble.
^(W)The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.
^11 (X)The Lord utters his voice
    before ^(Y)his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
    ^(Z)he who executes his word is powerful.
^(AA)For the day of the Lord is ^(AB)great and very awesome;
    ^(AC)who can endure it?

^15 (AM)Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    ^(AN)consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
¹⁶     gather the people.
^(AO)Consecrate the congregation;
    assemble the elders;
^(AP)gather the children,
    even nursing infants.
^(AQ)Let the bridegroom leave his room,
    and the bride her chamber.

^17 (AR)Between the ^(AS)vestibule and the ^(AT)altar
    ^(AU)let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
    and make not your heritage a reproach,
    a byword among the nations.^[a]
(AV)Why should they say among the peoples,
    ‘Where is their God?’”

²⁰ “I will remove the northerner far from you,
    and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard^[b] into ^(BA)the eastern sea,
    and his rear guard^[c] into ^(BB)the western sea;
^(BC)the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
    for he has done great things.

²¹ “Fear not, O land;
    be glad and rejoice,
    for ^(BD)the Lord has done great things!
²² Fear not, ^(BE)you beasts of the field,
    for ^(BF)the pastures of the wilderness are green;
^(BG)the tree bears its fruit;
    the fig tree and ^(BH)vine give their full yield.

^23 (BI)“Be glad, O children of Zion,
    and ^(BJ)rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given ^(BK)the early rain for your vindication;
    he has poured down for you abundant rain,
    ^(BL)the early and ^(BM)the latter rain, as before.

²⁴ “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
    the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
²⁵ I will restore^[d] to you the years
    that ^(BN)the swarming locust has eaten,
^(BO)the hopper, ^(BP)the destroyer, and ^(BQ)the cutter,
    ^(BR)my great army, which I sent among you.

^26 (BS)“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
    and praise the name of the Lord your God,
    who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people ^(BT)shall never again be put to shame.
^27 (BU)You shall know that I am ^(BV)in the midst of Israel,
    and that ^(BW)I am the Lord your God ^(BX)and there is none else.
And my people ^(BY)shall never again be put to shame.

^(A)“For three transgressions of ^(B)Moab,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,^[a]
because ^(C)he burned to lime
    the bones of the king of Edom.
² So I will send a fire upon Moab,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of ^(D)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
    amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
^3 (E)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
    and will kill ^(F)all its princes^[b] with him,”
says the Lord.

^(G)“For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(H)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
    and have not kept his statutes,
but ^(I)their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
⁵ So ^(J)I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

^(K)“For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because ^(L)they sell the righteous for ^(M)silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals—
⁷ those who trample the head of the poor ^(N)into the dust of the earth
    and ^(O)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
^(P)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
    so that my holy name is profaned;
⁸ they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments ^(Q)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
    the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹ “Yet ^(R)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
    ^(S)whose height was like the height of the cedars
    and who was as strong as the oaks;
^(T)I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.
^10 (U)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    ^(V)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    ^(W)to possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹ And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for ^(X)Nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.

¹² “But you made the Nazirites ^(Y)drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, ^(Z)‘You shall not prophesy.’

¹³ “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
^14 (AA)Flight shall perish from the swift,
    ^(AB)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    ^(AC)nor shall the mighty save his life;
¹⁵ he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is ^(AD)swift of foot shall not save himself,
    ^(AE)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
¹⁶ and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.