Joel 2
New American Standard Bible
The Terrible Visitation
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.
15 (AG)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
(AH)Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, (AI)sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Have the (AJ)groom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,
Weep (AK)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “[g](AL)Spare Your people, Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a (AM)disgrace,
With the nations jeering at them.
Why should those among the peoples say,
‘(AN)Where is their God?’”
Deliverance Promised
18 Then the Lord [h]will be (AO)zealous for His land,
And [i]will have (AP)compassion for His people.
19 The Lord [j]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 [k]them;
And I will (AR)never again make you a disgrace among the nations.
20 But I will remove the (AS)northern army far from you,
And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land,
Its advance guard into the (AT)eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the (AU)western sea.
And its (AV)stench will ascend and its odor of decay will come up,
Because it has done great things.”
21 (AW)Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice,
For the Lord has done (AX)great things.
22 Do not fear, animals of the field,
For the (AY)pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has produced its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded [l]in full.
23 So shout for joy, you (AZ)sons of Zion,
And (BA)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has (BB)given you [m]the early rain for your vindication.
And He has brought down for you the rain,
The [n]early and [o](BC)latter rain [p]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 compensate you for the years
That the [q]swarming (BE)locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust—
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to (BF)eat and be satisfied,
And you will (BG)praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has (BH)dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will (BI)never be put to shame.
27 So you will (BJ)know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God
And there is (BK)no other;
And My people will never be (BL)put to shame.
The Promise of the Spirit
28 “[r](BM)It will come about after this
That I will (BN)pour out My Spirit on all [s](BO)mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will have dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 And even on the (BP)male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
The Day of the Lord
30 I will [t](BQ)display 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 the Lord comes.
32 And it will come about that (BT)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
Will [u]be saved;
For (BU)on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who (BV)escape,
Just as the Lord has said,
Even among the (BW)survivors whom the Lord calls.
Footnotes
- Joel 2:5 Lit Like the noise of chariots
- Joel 2:5 Lit sound
- Joel 2:6 Or become flushed
- Joel 2:7 Lit in his ways
- Joel 2:8 Lit fall
- Joel 2:8 Lit weapon, prob. javelin
- Joel 2:17 Or Look compassionately on
- Joel 2:18 Or was zealous
- Joel 2:18 Or had compassion
- Joel 2:19 Or answered and said
- Joel 2:19 Lit it
- Joel 2:22 Lit their wealth
- Joel 2:23 I.e., autumn; or possibly the teacher for righteousness
- Joel 2:23 I.e., autumn
- Joel 2:23 I.e., spring
- Joel 2:23 As in ancient versions; MT in the first
- Joel 2:25 Or migratory
- Joel 2:28 Ch 3:1 in Heb
- Joel 2:28 Lit flesh
- Joel 2:30 Lit give
- Joel 2:32 Or flee to safety
Joel 2
New Living Translation
Locusts Invade like an Army
2 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.
2 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.
3 Fire burns in front of them,
and flames follow after them.
Ahead of them the land lies
as beautiful as the Garden of Eden.
Behind them is nothing but desolation;
not one thing escapes.
4 They look like horses;
they charge forward like warhorses.[b]
5 Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.
Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,
like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,
or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6 Fear grips all the people;
every face grows pale with terror.
7 The attackers march like warriors
and scale city walls like soldiers.
Straight forward they march,
never breaking rank.
8 They never jostle each other;
each moves in exactly the right position.
They break through defenses
without missing a step.
9 They swarm over the city
and run along its walls.
They enter all the houses,
climbing like thieves through the windows.
10 The earth quakes as they advance,
and the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord is at the head of the column.
He leads them with a shout.
This is his mighty army,
and they follow his orders.
The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing.
Who can possibly survive?
A Call to Repentance
12 That is why the Lord says,
“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
He is eager to relent and not punish.
14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
to the Lord your God as before.
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem!
Announce a time of fasting;
call the people together
for a solemn meeting.
16 Gather all the people—
the elders, the children, and even the babies.
Call the bridegroom from his quarters
and the bride from her private room.
17 Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,
stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.
Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
The Lord’s Promise of Restoration
18 Then the Lord will pity his people
and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19 The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
among the surrounding nations.
20 I will drive away these armies from the north.
I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.[c]
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”
Surely the Lord has done great things!
21 Don’t be afraid, O land.
Be glad now and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things.
22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field,
for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
The trees will again be filled with fruit;
fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.
24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25 The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.[d]
It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
26 Once again you will have all the food you want,
and you will praise the Lord your God,
who does these miracles for you.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
that I am the Lord your God, and there is no other.
Never again will my people be disgraced.
The Lord’s Promise of His Spirit
28 [e]“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.
30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth—
blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will turn blood red
before that great and terrible[f] day of the Lord arrives.
32 But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved,
for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
just as the Lord has said.
These will be among the survivors
whom the Lord has called.
Footnotes
- 2:1 Hebrew Zion; also in 2:15, 23.
- 2:4 Or like charioteers.
- 2:20 Hebrew into the eastern sea, . . . into the western sea.
- 2:25 The precise identification of the four kinds of locusts mentioned here is uncertain.
- 2:28 Verses 2:28-32 are numbered 3:1-5 in Hebrew text.
- 2:31 Greek version reads glorious.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
