2A day of darkness and gloom,
            A day of clouds and thick darkness.
            As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
            So there is a great and mighty people;
            There has never been anything like it,
            Nor will there be again after it
            To the years of many generations.

      3A fire consumes before them
            And behind them a flame burns.
            The land is like the garden of Eden before them
            But a desolate wilderness behind them,
            And nothing at all escapes them.

      4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
            And like war horses, so they run.

      5With a noise as of chariots
            They leap on the tops of the mountains,
            Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
            Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

      6Before them the people are in anguish;
            All faces turn pale.

      7They run like mighty men,
            They climb the wall like soldiers;
            And they each march in line,
            Nor do they deviate from their paths.

      8They do not crowd each other,
            They march everyone in his path;
            When they burst through the defenses,
            They do not break ranks.

      9They rush on the city,
            They run on the wall;
            They climb into the houses,
            They enter through the windows like a thief.

      10Before them the earth quakes,
            The heavens tremble,
            The sun and the moon grow dark
            And the stars lose their brightness.

      11The LORD utters His voice before His army;
            Surely His camp is very great,
            For strong is he who carries out His word.
            The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
            And who can endure it?

      12“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,
            “Return to Me with all your heart,
            And with fasting, weeping and mourning;

      13And rend your heart and not your garments.”
            Now return to the LORD your God,
            For He is gracious and compassionate,
            Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
            And relenting of evil.

      14Who knows whether He will not turn and 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,
            Consecrate a fast, proclaim 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 LORD’S ministers,
            Weep between the porch and the altar,
            And let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
            And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
            A byword among the nations.
            Why should they among the peoples say,
            ‘Where is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

18Then the LORD will be zealous for His land
            And will have pity on His people.

      19The LORD will answer and say to His people,
            “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,
            And you will be satisfied in full with them;
            And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

      20“But I will remove the northern army far from you,
            And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
            And its vanguard into the eastern sea,
            And its rear guard into the western sea.
            And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
            For it has done great things.”

      21Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
            For the LORD has done great things.

      22Do not fear, beasts of the field,
            For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
            For the tree has borne its fruit,
            The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

      23So rejoice, O sons of Zion,
            And be glad in the LORD your God;
            For He has given you the early rain for your vindication.
            And He has poured down for you the rain,
            The early and latter rain as before.

      24The threshing floors will be full of grain,
            And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.

      25“Then I will make up to 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;
            Then My people will never be put to shame.

      27“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
            And that I am the LORD your God,
            And there is no other;
            And My people will never be put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28“It will come about after this
            That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
            And your sons and 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 display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
            Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

      31“The sun will be turned into darkness
            And the moon into blood
            Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

      32“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
            Will be delivered;
            For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
            There will be those who escape,
            As the LORD has said,
            Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.