2:1 Blow the trumpet
sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,
for the day of the Lord is about to come.
Indeed,
2:2 It will be
a day of foreboding storm clouds,
like blackness
It is a huge and powerful army
there has never been anything like it ever before,
and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!
2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path;
a flame blazes behind them.
The land looks like the Garden of Eden
but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –
for nothing escapes them!
2:4 They look like horses;
they charge ahead like war horses.
2:5 They sound like
like the crackling
like the noise of
2:6 People
All of their faces turn pale with fright.
2:7 They
they scale walls like soldiers.
Each one proceeds on his course;
they do not alter
2:8 They do not jostle one another;
each of them marches straight ahead.
They burst through
and do not break ranks.
2:9 They rush into
they scale
They climb up into the houses;
they go in through the windows like a thief.
2:10 The earth quakes
the sky reverberates.
The sun and the moon grow dark;
the stars refuse to shine.
2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders
Indeed, his warriors
Surely his command is carried out!
Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome
and very terrifying – who can survive
2:12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,
“return to me with all your heart –
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Tear your hearts,
not just your garments!”
2:13 Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love
2:14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve,
and leave blessing in his wake
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!
2:15 Blow the trumpet
Announce a holy fast;
proclaim a sacred assembly!
2:16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters.
2:17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep
from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.
Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;
please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,
to become a proverb
Why should it be said
“Where is their God?”
2:18 Then the Lord became
he had compassion on his people.
2:19 The Lord responded
“Look! I am about to restore your grain
as well as fresh wine and olive oil.
You will be fully satisfied.
I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.
2:20 I will remove the one from the north
I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place.
Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea,
and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea.
His stench will rise up as a foul smell.”
Indeed, the Lord
2:21 Do not fear, my land!
Rejoice and be glad,
because the Lord has accomplished great things!
2:22 Do not fear, wild animals!
For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass.
Indeed, the trees bear their fruit;
the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest.