The Day of the Lord

(A)Blow a trumpet in (B)Zion;
    sound an alarm on (C)my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
    for (D)the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
(E)a day of darkness and gloom,
    (F)a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
    (G)a great and powerful people;
(H)their like has never been before,
    nor will be again after them
    through the years of all generations.

(I)Fire devours before them,
    and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like (J)the garden of Eden before them,
    but (K)behind them a desolate wilderness,
    and nothing escapes them.

(L)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
    and like war horses they run.
(M)As with the rumbling of chariots,
    they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of (N)a flame of fire
    devouring the stubble,
(O)like a powerful army
    drawn up for battle.

Before them peoples are in anguish;
    (P)all faces grow pale.
Like warriors they charge;
    like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
    they do not swerve from their paths.
They do not jostle one another;
    (Q)each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
    and are not halted.
(R)They leap upon the city,
    they run upon the walls,
(S)they climb up into the houses,
    (T)they enter through the windows (U)like a thief.

10 (V)The earth quakes before them;
    the heavens tremble.
(W)The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 (X)The Lord utters his voice
    before (Y)his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
    (Z)he who executes his word is powerful.
(AA)For the day of the Lord is (AB)great and very awesome;
    (AC)who can endure it?

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Blow the trumpet in Zion;
    sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near—(A)
a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains,
    a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
    nor will be again after them
    in ages to come.(B)

Fire devours in front of them,
    and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
    but after them a desolate wilderness,
    and nothing escapes them.(C)

They have the appearance of horses,
    and like war horses they charge.(D)
As with the rumbling of chariots,
    they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
    devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
    drawn up for battle.(E)

Before them peoples are in anguish;
    all faces grow pale.[a](F)
Like warriors they charge;
    like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course;
    they do not swerve from their paths.
They do not jostle one another;
    each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
    and are not halted.
They leap upon the city;
    they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses;
    they enter through the windows like a thief.(G)

10 The earth quakes before them;
    the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
    and the stars withdraw their shining.(H)
11 The Lord utters his voice
    at the head of his army;
how vast is his host!
    Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the Lord is great,
    terrible indeed—who can endure it?(I)

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Footnotes

  1. 2.6 Meaning of Heb uncertain