The Terrible Visitation

(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;
Indeed, it is near,
A day of (C)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As 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.
A (F)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame devours.
The land is (G)like the Garden of Eden before them,
But a (H)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
Their (I)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
[a]With a (J)noise as of chariots
They leap about on the tops of the mountains,
Like the [b]crackling of a (K)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people drawn up for battle.
Before them the people are in (L)anguish;
All (M)faces [c]turn pale.
They run like warriors,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And each of them (N)marches [d]in line,
Nor do they lose their way.
They do not crowd each other,
Every warrior of them marches in his path;
When they [e]burst through the [f]defenses,
They do not break ranks.
They storm 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 become dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Lord (S)utters His voice before (T)His army;
His camp is indeed very great,
For (U)mighty is one who carries out His word.
The (V)day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome,
And (W)who can endure it?
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
(X)Return to Me with all your heart,
And with (Y)fasting, weeping, and mourning;
13 And (Z)tear your heart and not merely (AA)your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is (AB)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in mercy
And (AC)relenting of catastrophe.
14 Who knows, (AD)He might turn and relent,
And leave a (AE)blessing behind Him,
Resulting in (AF)a grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God.
15 (AG)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
(AH)Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, (AI)sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Have the (AJ)groom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Lords ministers,
Weep (AK)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “[g](AL)Spare Your people, Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance a (AM)disgrace,
With the nations jeering at them.
Why should those among the peoples say,
(AN)Where is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

18 Then the Lord [h]will be (AO)zealous for His land,
And [i]will have (AP)compassion for His people.
19 The Lord [j]will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to (AQ)send you grain, new wine, and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with [k]them;
And I will (AR)never again make you a disgrace among the nations.
20 But I will remove the (AS)northern army far from you,
And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land,
Its advance guard into the (AT)eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the (AU)western sea.
And its (AV)stench will ascend and its odor of decay will come up,
Because it has done great things.”

21 (AW)Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice,
For the Lord has done (AX)great things.
22 Do not fear, animals of the field,
For the (AY)pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has produced its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded [l]in full.
23 So shout for joy, you (AZ)sons of Zion,
And (BA)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has (BB)given you [m]the early rain for your vindication.
And He has brought down for you the rain,
The [n]early and [o](BC)latter rain [p]as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will (BD)overflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will compensate you for the years
That the [q]swarming (BE)locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust—
My great army which I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to (BF)eat and be satisfied,
And you will (BG)praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has (BH)dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will (BI)never be put to shame.
27 So you will (BJ)know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Lord your God
And there is (BK)no other;
And My people will never be (BL)put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28 [r](BM)It will come about after this
That I will (BN)pour out My Spirit on all [s](BO)mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will have dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 And even on the (BP)male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the Lord

30 I will [t](BQ)display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The (BR)sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the (BS)great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
32 And it will come about that (BT)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
Will [u]be saved;
For (BU)on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who (BV)escape,
Just as the Lord has said,
Even among the (BW)survivors whom the Lord calls.

Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:5 Lit Like the noise of chariots
  2. Joel 2:5 Lit sound
  3. Joel 2:6 Or become flushed
  4. Joel 2:7 Lit in his ways
  5. Joel 2:8 Lit fall
  6. Joel 2:8 Lit weapon, prob. javelin
  7. Joel 2:17 Or Look compassionately on
  8. Joel 2:18 Or was zealous
  9. Joel 2:18 Or had compassion
  10. Joel 2:19 Or answered and said
  11. Joel 2:19 Lit it
  12. Joel 2:22 Lit their wealth
  13. Joel 2:23 I.e., autumn; or possibly the teacher for righteousness
  14. Joel 2:23 I.e., autumn
  15. Joel 2:23 I.e., spring
  16. Joel 2:23 As in ancient versions; MT in the first
  17. Joel 2:25 Or migratory
  18. Joel 2:28 Ch 3:1 in Heb
  19. Joel 2:28 Lit flesh
  20. Joel 2:30 Lit give
  21. Joel 2:32 Or flee to safety

The Terrible Visitation

Blow the trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment],
Sound an alarm on My holy mountain [Zion]!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear,
For the [judgment] day of the Lord is coming;
It is close at hand,(A)

A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist,
Like the dawn spread over the mountains;
There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty,
The like of which has never been before
Nor will be again afterward
Even for years of many generations.

Before them a fire devours,
And behind them a flame burns;
Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden,
But behind them a desolate wilderness;
And nothing at all escapes them.

Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
And they run like war horses.

Like the noise of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
Like a mighty people set in battle formation.(B)

Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces become pale [with terror].

They run like warriors;
They climb the wall like soldiers.
They each march [straight ahead] in line,
And they do not deviate from their paths.

They do not crowd each other;
Each one marches in his path.
When they burst through the defenses (weapons),
They do not break ranks.

They rush over the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb up into the houses,
They enter at the windows like a thief.
10 
The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.(C)
11 
The Lord utters His voice before His army,
For His camp is very great,
Because strong and powerful is he who [obediently] carries out His word.
For the day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible [causing dread];
Who can endure it?(D)
12 
“Even now,” says the Lord,
“Turn and come to Me with all your heart [in genuine repentance],
With fasting and weeping and mourning [until every barrier is removed and the broken fellowship is restored];
13 
Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.”
Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people];
And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].
14 
Who knows whether He will relent [and revoke your sentence],
And leave a blessing behind Him,
Even a grain offering and a drink offering [from the bounty He provides you]
For the Lord your God?
15 
Blow a trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment],
Dedicate a fast [as a day of restraint and humility], call a solemn assembly.
16 
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber. [No one is excused from the assembly.]
17 
Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “Have compassion and spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not make Your inheritance (Israel) an object of ridicule,
Or a [humiliating] byword among the [Gentile] nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

18 
Then the Lord will be jealous for His land [ready to defend it since it is rightfully and uniquely His]
And will have compassion on His people [and will spare them].
19 
The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to send you grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with them;
And I will never again make you an object of ridicule among the [Gentile] nations.
20 
“But I will remove the northern army far away from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
With its forward guard into the eastern sea (Dead Sea)
And with its rear guard into the western sea (Mediterranean Sea).
And its stench will arise and its foul odor of decay will come up [this is the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord],
For [a]He has done great things.”(E)

21 
Do not fear, O land; be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done great things!(F)
22 
Do not be afraid, you animals of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green;
The tree has produced its fruit,
And the fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
23 
So rejoice, O children of Zion,
And delight in the Lord, your God;
For He has given you the early [autumn] rain in vindication
And He has poured down the rain for you,
The early [autumn] rain and the late [spring] rain, as before.
24 
And the threshing floors shall be full of grain,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.
25 
“And I will compensate you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust—
My great army which I sent among you.
26 
“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the Lord your God
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to shame.
27 
“And you shall know [without any doubt] that I am in the midst of Israel [to protect and bless you],
And that I am the Lord your God,
And there is no other;
My people will never be put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28 
“It shall come about after this
That I shall pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the Lord

30 
“I will show signs and wonders [displaying My power] in the heavens and on the earth,
Blood and fire and columns of smoke.
31 
“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(G)
32 
“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Will be saved [from the coming judgment]
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the Lord has said,
Even among the remnant [of survivors] whom the Lord calls.(H)

Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:20 Interpreters are divided as to whether it is the northern destroyer who has done “great things,” or the Lord. The latter view is supported by v 21.