Parallel Bible results for "joel 2"

Joel 2

The Message Bible MSG

1 Blow the ram's horn trumpet in Zion! Trumpet the alarm on my holy mountain! Shake the country up! God's Judgment's on its way - the Day's almost here!

2 A black day! A Doomsday! Clouds with no silver lining! Like dawn light moving over the mountains, a huge army is coming. There's never been anything like it and never will be again.

3 Wildfire burns everything before this army and fire licks up everything in its wake. Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden. When it leaves, it is Death Valley. Nothing escapes unscathed.

4 The locust army seems all horses - galloping horses, an army of horses.

5 It sounds like thunder leaping on mountain ridges, Or like the roar of wildfire through grass and brush, Or like an invincible army shouting for blood, ready to fight, straining at the bit.

6 At the sight of this army, the people panic, faces white with terror.

7 The invaders charge. They climb barricades. Nothing stops them. Each soldier does what he's told, so disciplined, so determined.

8 They don't get in each other's way. Each one knows his job and does it. Undaunted and fearless, unswerving, unstoppable.

9 They storm the city, swarm its defenses, Loot the houses, breaking down doors, smashing windows.

10 They arrive like an earthquake, sweep through like a tornado. Sun and moon turn out their lights, stars black out.

11 God himself bellows in thunder as he commands his forces. Look at the size of that army! And the strength of those who obey him! God's Judgment Day - great and terrible. Who can possibly survive this? Change Your Life

12 But there's also this, it's not too late - God's personal Message! - "Come back to me and really mean it! Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your sins!"

13 Change your life, not just your clothes. Come back to God, your God. And here's why: God is kind and merciful. He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot, This most patient God, extravagant in love, always ready to cancel catastrophe.

14 Who knows? Maybe he'll do it now, maybe he'll turn around and show pity. Maybe, when all's said and done, there'll be blessings full and robust for your God!

15 Blow the ram's horn trumpet in Zion! Declare a day of repentance, a holy fast day. Call a public meeting.

16 Get everyone there. Consecrate the congregation. Make sure the elders come, but bring in the children, too, even the nursing babies, Even men and women on their honeymoon - interrupt them and get them there.

17 Between Sanctuary entrance and altar, let the priests, God's servants, weep tears of repentance. Let them intercede: "Have mercy, God, on your people! Don't abandon your heritage to contempt. Don't let the pagans take over and rule them and sneer, 'And so where is this God of theirs?'"

18 At that, God went into action to get his land back. He took pity on his people.

19 God answered and spoke to his people, "Look, listen - I'm sending a gift: Grain and wine and olive oil. The fast is over - eat your fill! I won't expose you any longer to contempt among the pagans.

20 I'll head off the final enemy coming out of the north and dump them in a wasteland. Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea, the other half in the Mediterranean. There they'll rot, a stench to high heaven. The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!" The Trees Are Bearing Fruit Again

21 Fear not, earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things.

22 Fear not, wild animals! The fields and meadows are greening up. The trees are bearing fruit again: a bumper crop of fig trees and vines!

23 Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God. He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right - Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do.

24 And plenty of food for your body - silos full of grain, casks of wine and barrels of olive oil.

25 "I'll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation - Locusts savage, locusts deadly, fierce locusts, locusts of doom, That great locust invasion I sent your way.

26 You'll eat your fill of good food. You'll be full of praises to your God, The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder. Never again will my people be despised.

27 You'll know without question that I'm in the thick of life with Israel, That I'm your God, yes, your God, the one and only real God. Never again will my people be despised. The Sun Turning Black and the Moon Blood-Red

28 "And that's just the beginning: After that - "I will pour out my Spirit on every kind of people: Your sons will prophesy, also your daughters. Your old men will dream, your young men will see visions.

29 I'll even pour out my Spirit on the servants, men and women both.

30 I'll set wonders in the sky above and signs on the earth below: Blood and fire and billowing smoke,

31 the sun turning black and the moon blood-red, Before the Judgment Day of God, the Day tremendous and awesome.

32 Whoever calls, 'Help, God!' gets help. On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be a great rescue - just as God said. Included in the survivors are those that God calls.

New Living Translation NLT

1 Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem ! Raise the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us.

2 It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again.

3 Fire burns in front of them, and flames follow after them. Ahead of them the land lies as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes.

4 They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses.

5 Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops. Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots, like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble, or like a mighty army moving into battle.

6 Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.

7 The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank.

8 They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.

9 They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.

10 The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

11 The LORD is at the head of the column. He leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?

12 That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

13 Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.

14 Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this curse. Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine to the LORD your God as before.

15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.

16 Gather all the people— the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her private room.

17 Let the priests, who minister in the LORD ’s presence, stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar. Let them pray, “Spare your people, LORD ! Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery. Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say, ‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”

18 Then the LORD will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land.

19 The LORD will reply, “Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil, enough to satisfy your needs. You will no longer be an object of mockery among the surrounding nations.

20 I will drive away these armies from the north. I will send them into the parched wastelands. Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea, and those at the rear into the Mediterranean. The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.” Surely the LORD has done great things!

21 Don’t be afraid, O land. Be glad now and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things.

22 Don’t be afraid, you animals of the field, for the wilderness pastures will soon be green. The trees will again be filled with fruit; fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.

23 Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the LORD your God! For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as the rains of spring.

24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.

25 The LORD says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.

26 Once again you will have all the food you want, and you will praise the LORD your God, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people be disgraced.

27 Then you will know that I am among my people Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other. Never again will my people be disgraced.

28 “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.

29 In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike.

30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke.

31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives.

32 But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved, for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape, just as the LORD has said. These will be among the survivors whom the LORD has called.