2 ^(A)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the ^(B)day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
² A day of ^(C)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a ^(D)great and mighty people;
There has ^(E)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
³ A ^(F)fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is ^(G)like the garden of Eden before them
But a ^(H)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
⁴ Their ^(I)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
^5 [a]With a ^(J)noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the ^[b]crackling of a ^(K)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
⁶ Before them the people are in ^(L)anguish;
All ^(M)faces ^[c]turn pale.
⁷ They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each ^(N)march ^[d]in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
⁸ They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they ^[e]burst through the ^[f]defenses,
They do not break ranks.
⁹ They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the ^(O)houses,
They ^(P)enter through the windows like a thief.
¹⁰ Before them the earth ^(Q)quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The ^(R)sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
¹¹ The Lord ^(S)utters His voice before ^(T)His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For ^(U)strong is he who carries out His word.
The ^(V)day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And ^(W)who can endure it?