o[See ver. 2 above]
cc[See ver. 26 above]

‏ Joel 2

The Day of the Lord

1 aBlow a trumpet in bZion;
sound an alarm on cmy holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for dthe day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 ea day of darkness and gloom,
fa day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
ga great and powerful people;
htheir like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
3 iFire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like jthe garden of Eden before them,
but kbehind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 lTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 mAs with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of na flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
olike a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6Before them peoples are in anguish;
pall faces grow pale.
7Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8They do not jostle one another;
qeach marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 rThey leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
sthey climb up into the houses,
tthey enter through the windows ulike a thief.
10 vThe earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
wThe sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 xThe Lord utters his voice
before yhis army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
zhe who executes his word is powerful.
aaFor the day of the Lord is abgreat and very awesome;
acwho can endure it?

Return to the Lord

12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
adreturn to me with all your heart,
aewith fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13and afrend your hearts and not agyour garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
ahfor he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
aiand he relents over disaster.
14 ajWho knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and akleave a blessing behind him,
ala grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15 amBlow the trumpet in Zion;
anconsecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16gather the people.
aoConsecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
apgather the children,
even nursing infants.
aqLet the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 arBetween the asvestibule and the ataltar
aulet the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Or  reproach, that the nations should rule over them

awWhy should they say among the peoples,
Where is their God?’”

The Lord Had Pity

18 axThen the Lord became jealous for his land
ayand had pity on his people.
19The Lord answered and said to his people,
Behold, azI am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
baand you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
20“I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard
Hebrew face
into bcthe eastern sea,
and his rear guard
Hebrew  his end
into bethe western sea;
bfthe stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
21Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for bgthe Lord has done great things!
22Fear not, bhyou beasts of the field,
for bithe pastures of the wilderness are green;
bjthe tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and bkvine give their full yield.
23 bl“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and bmrejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given bnthe early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
bothe early and bpthe latter rain, as before.
24“The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25I will restore
Or pay back
to you the years
that brthe swarming locust has eaten,
bsthe hopper, btthe destroyer, and buthe cutter,
bvmy great army, which I sent among you.
26 bw“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people bxshall never again be put to shame.
27 byYou shall know that I am bzin the midst of Israel,
and that caI am the Lord your God cband there is none else.
And my people ccshall never again be put to shame.

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

28
Ch 3:1 in Hebrew
ce“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that cfI will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
cgyour sons and chyour daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 ciEven on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

30“And I will show cjwonders in the heavens and ckon the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 clThe sun shall be turned to darkness, cmand the moon to blood, cnbefore the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32And it shall come to pass that coeveryone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. cpFor in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among cqthe survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.

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