Joel 2
Legacy Standard Bible
2 (A)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And make a loud shout on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the (B)day of Yahweh is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of (C)darkness and thick darkness,
A day of clouds and dense gloom.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a (D)numerous and mighty people;
There has (E)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
For the years from generation to generation.
3 A (F)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame burns.
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 on the tops of the mountains,
Like the [b]crackling of a (K)flame of fire consumes the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the peoples are (L)writhing;
All (M)faces [c]turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men;
They climb up the wall like men of war;
And they each (N)march [d]in line,
And they do not deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other;
They march everyone in his path;
When they fall against the defending weapons,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city;
They run on the wall;
They climb up into the (O)houses;
They (P)enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth (Q)trembles;
The heavens quake;
The (R)sun and the moon grow dark,
And the stars [e]lose their brightness.
11 But Yahweh (S)gives forth His voice before (T)His military force;
Surely His camp is very numerous,
For (U)mighty is he who does His word.
The (V)day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome,
And (W)who can endure it?
Return to Yahweh
12 “Yet even now,” declares Yahweh,
“(X)Return to Me with all your heart
And with (Y)fasting, weeping, and [f]wailing;
13 And (Z)tear your heart and not (AA)your garments.”
Now return to Yahweh your God,
For He is (AB)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,
And (AC)relenting concerning evil.
14 Who knows (AD)whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a (AE)blessing behind Him,
Even (AF)a grain offering and a drink offering
For Yahweh your God?
15 (AG)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
(AH)Set apart a fast as holy, call for a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, (AI)set apart the congregation as holy,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the infants and the nursing babies.
Let the (AJ)bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh,
Weep (AK)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “(AL)Pity Your people, O Yahweh,
And do not make Your inheritance a (AM)reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
‘(AN)Where is their God?’”
Yahweh Will Spare His People
18 Then Yahweh [g]will be (AO)zealous for His land
And [h]will (AP)spare His people.
19 Then Yahweh [i]will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to (AQ)send you grain, new wine, and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with [j]them;
And I will (AR)never again make you a reproach among the nations.
20 But I will remove the (AS)northern military force far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the (AT)eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the (AU)western sea.
And its (AV)stench will rise up, and its foul smell will rise up,
For it has done great things.”
21 (AW)Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For Yahweh has done (AX)great things.
22 Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the (AY)pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine have yielded [k]their full force.
23 So rejoice, O (AZ)sons of Zion,
And (BA)be glad in Yahweh your God,
For He has (BB)given you [l]the early rain in righteousness.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The [m]early and [n](BC)late rains [o]as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will (BD)overflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will pay back to you in full for the years
That the swarming (BE)locust has consumed,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust,
My great military force which I sent among you.
26 And you will have plenty to (BF)consume and be satisfied
And (BG)praise the name of Yahweh your God,
Who has (BH)dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will (BI)never be put to shame.
27 Thus you will (BJ)know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am Yahweh your God,
And there is (BK)no other;
And My people will never be (BL)put to shame.
Yahweh Will Pour Out His Spirit
28 “[p](BM)And it will be afterwards
That I will (BN)pour out My Spirit on all [q](BO)mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;
Your old men will dream dreams;
Your young men will see visions.
29 Even on the (BP)male slaves and female slaves
I will in those days pour out My Spirit.
Deliverance in the Day of Yahweh
30 And I will (BQ)put wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The (BR)sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the (BS)great and awesome day of Yahweh comes.
32 And it will be that (BT)everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh
Will [r]be delivered;
For (BU)on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who (BV)escape,
As Yahweh has said,
Even among the (BW)survivors whom Yahweh calls.
Footnotes
- Joel 2:5 Lit Like the noise of chariots
- Joel 2:5 Lit noise
- Joel 2:6 Lit gather their radiance
- Joel 2:7 Lit in his ways
- Joel 2:10 Lit gather together
- Joel 2:12 Or lamentation, cf. 1:13
- Joel 2:18 Or was zealous
- Joel 2:18 Or had spared
- Joel 2:19 Or answered and said
- Joel 2:19 Lit it
- Joel 2:22 Or their excellence
- Joel 2:23 Autumn; or possibly word play to mean the teacher for righteousness, cf. Is 30:20
- Joel 2:23 Autumn
- Joel 2:23 Spring
- Joel 2:23 As in ancient versions; Heb in the first
- Joel 2:28 Ch 3:1 in Heb
- Joel 2:28 Lit flesh
- Joel 2:32 Lit escape
Joel 2
New King James Version
The Day of the Lord
2 Blow (A)the [a]trumpet in Zion,
And (B)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For (C)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
2 (D)A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
(E)A people come, great and strong,
(F)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.
3 A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like (G)the Garden of Eden before them,
(H)And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4 (I)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like [b]swift steeds, so they run.
5 (J)With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
(K)All faces [c]are drained of color.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break (L)ranks.
8 They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own [d]column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not [e]cut down.
9 They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They (M)enter at the windows (N)like a thief.
10 (O)The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
(P)The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
11 (Q)The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
(R)For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the (S)day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
(T)Who can endure it?
A Call to Repentance
12 “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
(U)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
13 So (V)rend your heart, and not (W)your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is (X)gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
14 (Y)Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave (Z)a blessing behind Him—
(AA)A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?
15 (AB)Blow the [f]trumpet in Zion,
(AC)Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
16 Gather the people,
(AD)Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
(AE)Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep (AF)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, (AG)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should [g]rule over them.
(AH)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
The Land Refreshed(AI)
18 Then the Lord will (AJ)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you (AK)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But (AL)I will remove far from you (AM)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back (AN)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done [h]monstrous things.”
21 Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done [i]marvelous things!
22 Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For (AO)the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And (AP)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the [j]former rain faithfully,
And He (AQ)will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
25 “So I will restore to you the years (AR)that the swarming [k]locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You shall (AS)eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to (AT)shame.
27 Then you shall know that I am (AU)in the midst of Israel:
(AV)I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.
God’s Spirit Poured Out
28 “And(AW) it shall come to pass afterward
That (AX)I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
(AY)Your sons and your (AZ)daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
29 And also on My (BA)menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And (BB)I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 (BC)The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
(BD)Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
32 And it shall come to pass
That (BE)whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be [l]saved.
For (BF)in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be [m]deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among (BG)the remnant whom the Lord calls.
Footnotes
- Joel 2:1 ram’s horn
- Joel 2:4 Or horsemen
- Joel 2:6 LXX, Tg., Vg. gather blackness
- Joel 2:8 Lit. highway
- Joel 2:8 Halted by losses
- Joel 2:15 ram’s horn
- Joel 2:17 Or speak a proverb against them
- Joel 2:20 Lit. great
- Joel 2:21 Lit. great
- Joel 2:23 Or teacher of righteousness
- Joel 2:25 Exact identity of these locusts unknown
- Joel 2:32 Or delivered
- Joel 2:32 Or salvation
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
