Joel 2:1-11

The Voice

2 Eternal One: Blow the trumpet in Zion;
        signal the alarm from My holy mountain!
    It is almost here. Let all who live in the land tremble
        because the day of the Eternal One is coming.

²     Judgment will come on a black and fearful day;
        a thick cloud of darkness will loom over everything.
    A great and mighty army advances
        like dawn spreading across the mountains.
    Never has the world seen anything like it before,
        nor will future generations ever see anything like it again.

³ The army is like a fire, consuming everything in its path—
    a scorching flame burning everything behind them.
The land before them is sweet like the garden of Eden.
    The land following—only a lonely desert; nothing is spared in judgment.
⁴ They look like horses arrayed for battle;
    they charge ahead like warhorses.
⁵ They sound like clattering chariots racing over mountaintops,
    like a crackling fire engulfing stubble,
Like a mighty army maneuvering for battle.
⁶ Seeing the result of God’s judgment looming, the nations writhe in anguish;
    each face grows as pale as a ghost.
⁷ They run like champions into the fight.
    Like skilled soldiers, they scale city walls;
Every man marches in formation, never leaving his rank.
⁸ Organized—no soldier crowds another.
    Independent—each man marches straight ahead.
Together—they are unstoppable as they break through the defenses
    and do not break off the attack.
⁹ They charge the city, scurry along its wall.
    They swarm through windows into houses, like common thieves.
¹⁰ Before them the earth trembles and the heavens shake.
The sun and the moon become a void of darkness.
    The stars lose their radiance too.
¹¹ The Eternal One shouts commands from the front line of His army;
    His forces are vast—uncountable mighty soldiers obey His command.
The day of the Eternal One is great, fearsome indeed.
    Who can survive?