2 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;^(A)
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming;^(B)
in fact, it is near—
² a day of darkness and gloom,^(C)
a day of clouds and total darkness,^(D)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people^(E) appears,
such as never existed in ages past^(F)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.^(G)

³ A fire devours in front of them,^(H)
and behind them a flame blazes.
The land in front of them
is like the garden of Eden,^(I)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;^(J)
there is no escape from them.
⁴ Their appearance is like that of horses,^(K)
and they gallop like war horses.
⁵ They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,^(L)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,^(M)
like a mighty army deployed for war.

⁶ Nations writhe in horror before them;^(N)
all faces turn pale.
⁷ They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,^(O)
and they do not change their course.
⁸ They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
⁹ They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;^(P)
they enter through the windows like thieves.^(Q)

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them;^(R)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,^(S)
and the stars cease their shining.^(T)
11 The Lord makes his voice heard^(U)
in the presence of his army.^(V)
His camp is very large;
those who carry out his command are powerful.^(W)
Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful^(X)—
who can endure it?^(Y)