2
The Terrible Visitation
1 ABlow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the
Bday of the Loʀᴅ is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of
Adarkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a
Bgreat and mighty people;
There has
Cnever been
anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.
3 A
Afire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is
Blike the garden of Eden before them
But a
Cdesolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their
Aappearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 1With a
Anoise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the
2crackling of a
Bflame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in
Aanguish;
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each
Amarch
1in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they
1burst through the
2defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the
Ahouses,
They
Benter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth
Aquakes,
The heavens tremble,
The
Bsun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.
11 The Loʀᴅ
Autters His voice before
BHis army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For
Cstrong is he who carries out His word.
The
Dday of the Loʀᴅ is indeed great and very awesome,
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Loʀᴅ,
“
AReturn to Me with all your heart,
And with
Bfasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And
Arend your heart and not
Byour garments.”
Now return to the Loʀᴅ your God,
For He is
Cgracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
14 Who knows
Awhether He will
not turn and relent
And leave a
Bblessing behind Him,
Even Ca grain offering and a drink offering
For the Loʀᴅ your God?
15 ABlow a trumpet in Zion,
BConsecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people,
Asanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the
Bbridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the Loʀᴅ’s ministers,
Weep
Abetween the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “
BSpare Your people, O Loʀᴅ,
And do not make Your inheritance a
Creproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
Deliverance Promised
18 Then the Loʀᴅ
1will be
Azealous for His land
And
2will have
Bpity on His people.
19 The Loʀᴅ
1will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to
Asend you grain, new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied
in full with
2them;
And I will
Bnever again make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But I will remove the
Anorthern
army far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the
Beastern sea,
And its rear guard into the
Cwestern sea.
And its
Dstench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
For it has done great things.”
21 ADo not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For the Loʀᴅ has done
Bgreat things.
22 Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the
Apastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded
1in full.
23 So rejoice, O
Asons of Zion,
And
Bbe glad in the Loʀᴅ your God;
For He has
Cgiven you
1the early rain for
your vindication.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The
2early and
3Dlatter rain
4as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will
Aoverflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming
Alocust 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
Aeat and be satisfied
And
Bpraise the name of the Loʀᴅ your God,
Who has
Cdealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will
Dnever be put to shame.
27 “Thus you will
Aknow that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the Loʀᴅ your God,
And My people will never be
Cput to shame.
The Promise of the Spirit
28 “
1AIt will come about after this
That I will
Bpour out My Spirit on all
2Cmankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
29 “Even on the
Amale and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
The Day of the Loʀᴅ
30 “I will
Adisplay wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.
31 “The
Asun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the
Bgreat and awesome day of the Loʀᴅ comes.
32 “And it will come about that
Awhoever calls on the name of the Loʀᴅ
Will be delivered;
For
Bon Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who
Cescape,
As the Loʀᴅ has said,
Even among the
Dsurvivors whom the Loʀᴅ calls.