Joel 2:1-11
Lexham English Bible
The Day of Yahweh is Near
2 Blow the trumpet[a] in Zion,
and sound the alarm on my holy mountain![b]
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of Yahweh is coming
—it is indeed near.
2 A day of darkness and gloom,
a day of cloud and thick darkness,
like the dawn spreads on the mountains,
a great and strong army!
There has been nothing like it from old,
and after it nothing will be again for generations to come.[c]
3 Before them[d] a fire devours,
and behind them a flame burns.
Like the garden of Eden is the land before them,[e]
and after them it is like a desolate desert,
and nothing can escape them.
4 Like the appearance of horses is their appearance,
and like horsemen they run;
5 like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about;
like the sound of a flame of fire
devouring stubble;
like a strong army arranged
in rows for battle.
6 From before them[f] nations writhe,
all faces turn pale.[g]
7 They run like mighty warriors,[h]
they scale the wall like men of war;
each goes on its own way,
and they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;[i]
each goes on its own trail;
and through the falling weapons,[j]
they are not halted.
9 In the city they rush forth;
on the walls[k] they run.
Into the houses they climb up;
through the windows
they enter like a thief.
10 Before them[l] the earth quakes;
the heavens tremble;
the sun and the moon grow dark,
and the stars have withheld[m] their splendor
11 And Yahweh utters[n] his voice before his army,
because his encampment is very large;
strong is the one who carries out his decree,
for great is the day of Yahweh
and exceedingly fearful.
Who can endure it?
Footnotes
- Joel 2:1 Hebrew “shofar”
- Joel 2:1 Literally “mountain of my holiness”
- Joel 2:2 Literally “until years of generations”
- Joel 2:3 Literally “before the presence of it”
- Joel 2:3 Literally “before the presence of it”
- Joel 2:6 Or “From in front of it,” or “From the presence of it”
- Joel 2:6 Literally “gather paleness”
- Joel 2:7 That is, the “great and strong army” (see 2:2)
- Joel 2:8 Literally “each man his brother”
- Joel 2:8 Hebrew “weapon”
- Joel 2:9 Hebrew “wall”
- Joel 2:10 Literally “Before the presence of it”
- Joel 2:10 Literally “gathered”
- Joel 2:11 Literally “gives”
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