Joel 2 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

The Terrible Visitation

1Blow the trumpet in Zion,

Sound an alarm on My holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear,

For the day of the Lord is coming;

It is close at hand,

2A day of darkness and gloom,

A day of clouds and of thick mist,

Like the dawn spread over the mountains;

There is a people numerous and mighty,

The like of which has never been before

Nor will be again afterward

Even for years of many generations.

3Before 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.

4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,

And they run like war horses.

5Like 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.

6Before them the people are in anguish;

All faces become pale.

7They run like warriors;

They climb the wall like soldiers.

They each march in line,

And they do not deviate from their paths.

8They do not crowd each other;

Each one marches in his path.

When they burst through the defenses (weapons),

They do not break ranks.

9They rush over the city,

They run on the wall;

They climb up into the houses,

They enter at the windows like a thief.

10The earth quakes before them,

The heavens tremble,

The sun and the moon grow dark

And the stars lose their brightness.

11The Lord utters His voice before His army,

For His camp is very great,

Because strong and powerful is he who carries out His word.

For the day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible;

Who can endure it?

12“Even now,” says the Lord,

“Turn and come to Me with all your heart,

With fasting and weeping and mourning;

13Rip your heart to pieces and not your garments.”

Now return to the Lord your God,

For He is gracious and compassionate,

Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness;

And He relents evil.

14Who knows whether He will relent,

And leave a blessing behind Him,

Even a grain offering and a drink offering

For the Lord your God?

15Blow a trumpet in Zion,

Dedicate a fast, call a solemn assembly.

16Gather 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.

17Let 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 byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Deliverance Promised

18¶Then the Lord will be jealous for His land

And will have compassion on His people.

19The 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 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,

For He has done great things.”

21¶Do not fear, O land; be glad and rejoice,

For the Lord has done great things!

22Do 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.

23So rejoice, O children of Zion,

And delight in the Lord, your God;

For He has given you the early rain in vindication

And He has poured down the rain for you,

The early rain and the late rain, as before.

24And 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 that I am in the midst of Israel,

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 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.

32“And it shall come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord

Will be saved

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

There will be those who escape,

As the Lord has said,

Even among the remnant whom the Lord calls.