^2 (C)Hear this, you ^(D)elders,
And listen, all inhabitants of the land.
^(E)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or in your fathers’ days?
^3 (F)Tell your sons about it,
And have your sons tell their sons,
And their sons the next generation.

^14 (AE)Consecrate a fast,
Proclaim a ^(AF)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of the Lord your God,
And ^(AG)cry out to the Lord.
^15 (AH)Woe for the day!
For the ^(AI)day of the Lord is near,
And it will come as ^(AJ)destruction from the ^[d]Almighty.
¹⁶ Has ^(AK)food not been cut off before our eyes, and
Joy and ^(AL)rejoicing from the house of our God?
¹⁷ The ^[e](AM)seeds have dried up under their shovels;
The storehouses have become desolate,
The grain silos are ruined,
Because the grain has dried up.
¹⁸ How ^(AN)the animals have groaned!
The herds of cattle have wandered aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep have ^[f]suffered.
^19 (AO)To You, Lord, I cry out;
For ^(AP)fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
²⁰ Even the animals of the field ^[g](AQ)pant for You;
For the ^(AR)stream beds of water are dried up,
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

2 ^(A)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the ^(B)day of the Lord is coming;
Indeed, it is near,
² A day of ^(C)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a ^(D)great and mighty people;
There has ^(E)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
³ A ^(F)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame devours.
The land is ^(G)like the Garden of Eden before them,
But a ^(H)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
⁴ Their ^(I)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
^5 [a]With a ^(J)noise as of chariots
They leap about on the tops of the mountains,
Like the ^[b]crackling of a ^(K)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people drawn up for battle.
⁶ Before them the people are in ^(L)anguish;
All ^(M)faces ^[c]turn pale.
⁷ They run like warriors,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And each of them ^(N)marches ^[d]in line,
Nor do they lose their way.
⁸ They do not crowd each other,
Every warrior of them marches in his path;
When they ^[e]burst through the ^[f]defenses,
They do not break ranks.
⁹ They storm the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the ^(O)houses,
They ^(P)enter through the windows like a thief.
¹⁰ Before them the earth ^(Q)quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The ^(R)sun and the moon become dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
¹¹ The Lord ^(S)utters His voice before ^(T)His army;
His camp is indeed very great,
For ^(U)mighty is one who carries out His word.
The ^(V)day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And ^(W)who can endure it?
¹² “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“^(X)Return to Me with all your heart,
And with ^(Y)fasting, weeping, and mourning;
¹³ And ^(Z)tear your heart and not merely ^(AA)your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^(AB)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy
And ^(AC)relenting of catastrophe.
¹⁴ Who knows, ^(AD)He might turn and relent,
And leave a ^(AE)blessing behind Him,
Resulting in ^(AF)a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God.