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Warning of Coming Judgment

18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
    “If only the day of the Lord were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
    That day will bring darkness, not light.

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15 The day of the Lord is near,
    the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.
    How terrible that day will be!

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Locusts Invade like an Army

Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem[a]!
    Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let everyone tremble in fear
    because the day of the Lord is upon us.
It is a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.
Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,
    a great and mighty army appears.
Nothing like it has been seen before
    or will ever be seen again.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Hebrew Zion; also in 2:15, 23.

31 The sun will become dark,
    and the moon will turn blood red
    before that great and terrible[a] day of the Lord arrives.

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Footnotes

  1. 2:31 Greek version reads glorious.

In all history there has never been such a time of terror.
    It will be a time of trouble for my people Israel.[a]
    Yet in the end they will be saved!

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Footnotes

  1. 30:7 Hebrew Jacob; also in 30:10b, 18. See note on 5:20.

11 Mobs gather in the streets, crying out for wine.
    Joy has turned to gloom.
    Gladness has been banished from the land.
12 The city is left in ruins,
    its gates battered down.

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19 They even mock God and say,
    “Hurry up and do something!
    We want to see what you can do.
Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,
    for we want to know what it is.”

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19 The land will be blackened
    by the fury of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
The people will be fuel for the fire,
    and no one will spare even his own brother.

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30 They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
    like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
    only darkness and distress will be seen;
    even the light will be darkened by clouds.

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10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 3:10 Other manuscripts read will be burned up; one early manuscript reads will be found destroyed.

They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”

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The Coming Day of Judgment

[a]The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Verses 4:1-6 are numbered 3:19-24 in Hebrew text.

The Coming Day of Judgment

“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.

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14 “That terrible day of the Lord is near.
    Swiftly it comes—
a day of bitter tears,
    a day when even strong men will cry out.
15 It will be a day when the Lord’s anger is poured out—
    a day of terrible distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and desolation,
    a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,

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10 The earth quakes as they advance,
    and the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
    and the stars no longer shine.

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27 “Son of man, the people of Israel are saying, ‘He’s talking about the distant future. His visions won’t come true for a long, long time.’

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22 “Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: ‘Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing.’

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15 People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about?
    Why don’t your predictions come true?”

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15 You boast, “We have struck a bargain to cheat death
    and have made a deal to dodge the grave.[a]
The coming destruction can never touch us,
    for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception.”

16 Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem,[b]
    a firm and tested stone.
It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.
    Whoever believes need never be shaken.[c]
17 I will test you with the measuring line of justice
    and the plumb line of righteousness.
Since your refuge is made of lies,
    a hailstorm will knock it down.
Since it is made of deception,
    a flood will sweep it away.
18 I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death,
    and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave.
When the terrible enemy sweeps through,
    you will be trampled into the ground.
19 Again and again that flood will come,
    morning after morning,
day and night,
    until you are carried away.”

This message will bring terror to your people.
20 The bed you have made is too short to lie on.
    The blankets are too narrow to cover you.
21 The Lord will come as he did against the Philistines at Mount Perazim
    and against the Amorites at Gibeon.
He will come to do a strange thing;
    he will come to do an unusual deed:
22 For the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
    has plainly said that he is determined to crush the whole land.
So scoff no more,
    or your punishment will be even greater.

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Footnotes

  1. 28:15 Hebrew Sheol; also in 28:18.
  2. 28:16a Hebrew in Zion.
  3. 28:16b Greek version reads Look! I am placing a stone in the foundation of Jerusalem [literally Zion], / a precious cornerstone for its foundation, chosen for great honor. / Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced. Compare Rom 9:33; 1 Pet 2:6.

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