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?

^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?’ ”