Joel 2:1-11

Amplified Bible

2 Blow the trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment],
Sound an alarm on My holy mountain [Zion]!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear,
For the [judgment] day of the Lord is coming;
It is close at hand,^(A)
2 
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist,
Like the dawn spread over the mountains;
There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty,
The like of which has never been before
Nor will be again afterward
Even for years of many generations.
³ 
Before them a fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden,
But behind them a desolate wilderness;
And nothing at all escapes them.
⁴ 
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
And they run like war horses.
⁵ 
Like the noise of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
Like a mighty people set in battle formation.^(B)
6 
Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces become pale [with terror].
⁷ 
They run like warriors;
They climb the wall like soldiers.
They each march [straight ahead] in line,
And they do not deviate from their paths.
⁸ 
They do not crowd each other;
Each one marches in his path.
When they burst through the defenses (weapons),
They do not break ranks.
⁹ 
They rush over the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb up into the houses,
They enter at the windows like a thief.
¹⁰ 
The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.^(C)
11 
The Lord utters His voice before His army,
For His camp is very great,
Because strong and powerful is he who [obediently] carries out His word.
For the day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible [causing dread];
Who can endure it?^(D)