Joel 2:1-11

Contemporary English Version

Locusts and an Enemy Army

2 Sound the trumpet on Zion,
    the Lord's sacred hill.
Warn everyone to tremble!
The judgment day of the Lord
    is coming soon.
²It will be dark and gloomy
    with storm clouds overhead.
Troops will cover the mountains
    like thunderclouds.
No army this powerful
has ever been gathered before
    or will be gathered again.
³Fiery flames surround them;
    no one escapes.
Before they invaded,
the land was like Eden;
    now only a desert remains.

⁴^(A) They look like horses
    and charge like cavalry.
⁵They roar over mountains
    like noisy chariots,
or a mighty army
    ready for battle.
They are a forest fire
    that feasts on straw.
⁶The very sight of them
    is frightening.^[a]
⁷They climb over walls
    like warriors;
they march in columns
    and never turn aside.^[b]
⁸They charge straight ahead,
    without pushing each other;
even arrows and spears
    cannot make them retreat.
⁹They swarm over city walls
    and enter our homes;
they crawl in through windows,
    just like thieves.

¹⁰^(B) They make the earth tremble
    and the heavens shake;
the sun and moon turn dark,
    and stars stop shining.
¹¹^(C) The Lord God leads this army
of countless troops,
    and they obey his commands.
The day of his judgment
is so terrible
    that no one can stand it.

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Footnotes

2.6 The very … frightening: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2.7 and never turn aside: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.