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.^[a]
    It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.

⁶ “I will strengthen Judah and save Israel^[a];
    I will restore them because of my compassion.
It will be as though I had never rejected them,
    for I am the Lord their God, who will hear their cries.

⁵ Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all you wine-drinkers!
All the grapes are ruined,
    and all your sweet wine is gone.
⁶ A vast army of locusts^[b] has invaded my land,
    a terrible army too numerous to count.
Its teeth are like lions’ teeth,
    its fangs like those of a lioness.
⁷ It has destroyed my grapevines
    and ruined my fig trees,
stripping their bark and destroying it,
    leaving the branches white and bare.

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.^[a]
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?