The Day of the Lord
1 1Blow a trumpet in
2Zion; sound an alarm on
3my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for
4the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,
2
5a day of darkness and gloom,
6a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
7a great and powerful people;
8their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
3
9Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like
10the garden of Eden before them, but
11behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
4
12Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
5
13As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of
14a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
15like a powerful army drawn up for battle.
6
Before them peoples are in anguish;
16all faces grow pale.
7
Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.
8
They do not jostle one another;
17each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted.
9
18They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls,
19they climb up into the houses,
20they enter through the windows
21like a thief.
10
22The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble.
23The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
11
24The LORD utters his voice before
25his army, for his camp is exceedingly great;
26he who executes his word is powerful.
27For the day of the LORD is
28great and very awesome;
29who can endure it?
Return to the Lord
12 "Yet even now," declares the LORD,
30"return to me with all your heart,
31with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13
and
32rend your hearts and not
33your garments." Return to the LORD your God,
34for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
35and he relents over disaster.
14
36Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and
37leave a blessing behind him,
38a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?