New Living Translation NLT
Common English Bible CEB
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.
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Blow the horn in Zion; give a shout on my holy mountain! Let all the people of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is near—
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.
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a day of darkness and no light, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread out upon the mountains, a great and powerful army comes, unlike any that has ever come before them, or will come after them in centuries ahead.
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.
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In front of them a fire consumes; and behind them a flame burns. Land ahead of them is like Eden's garden, but they leave behind them a barren wasteland; nothing escapes them.
4 They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses.
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They resemble horses, and like warhorses they charge,
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.
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like the rumbling of chariots. They leap on the mountaintops— like the crackling of a fire's flame, devouring the stubble; like a powerful army ready for battle.
6 Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.
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In their presence, peoples shake with fear; all faces turn red with worry.
7 The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank.
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Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they climb the wall. Each keeps to their own path; they didn't change their course.
8 They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.
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They don't crowd each other; each keeps to their own path. Even if they fall among the weapons, they won't stop.
9 They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.
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They rush upon the city; they run upon the walls. They climb into the houses; they enter through the windows like thieves.
10 The earth quakes as they advance, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.
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The earth quakes before them; the heavens shake. The sun and the moon are darkened; the stars have stopped shining,
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?
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because the LORD utters his voice at the head of his army. How numerous are his troops! Mighty are those who obey his word. The day of the LORD is great; it stirs up great fear—who can endure it?
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.
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Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your hearts, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow;
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.
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tear your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, very patient, full of faithful love, and ready to forgive.
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.
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Who knows whether he will have a change of heart and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Jerusalem! Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.
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Blow the horn in Zion; demand a fast; request a special assembly.
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.
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Gather the people; prepare a holy meeting; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the groom leave his room and the bride her chamber.
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?’”
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Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the LORD's ministers, weep. Let them say, "Have mercy, LORD, on your people, and don't make your inheritance a disgrace, an example of failure among the nations. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'"
18 Then the LORD will pity his people and jealously guard the honor of his land.
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Then the LORD became passionate about this land, and had pity on his people.
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.
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The LORD responded to the people: See, I am sending you the corn, new wine, and fresh oil, and you will be fully satisfied by it; and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the 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!
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I will remove the northern army far from you and drive it into a dried-up and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its rear into the western sea. Its stench will rise up; its stink will come to the surface. The LORD is about to do great things!
21 Don’t be afraid, O land. Be glad now and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things.
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Don't fear, fertile land; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD is about to do 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.
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Don't be afraid, animals of the field, for the meadows of the wilderness will turn green; the tree will bear its fruit; the fig tree and grapevine will give their full yield.
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.
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Children of Zion, rejoice and be glad in the LORD your God, because he will give you the early rain as a sign of righteousness; he will pour down abundant rain for you, the early and the late rain, as before.
24 The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain, and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
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The threshing floors will be full of grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and fresh 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.
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I will repay you for the years that the cutting locust, the swarming locust, the hopping locust, and the devouring locust have eaten— my great army, which I sent 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.
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You will eat abundantly and be satisfied, and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has done wonders for you; and my people will never again be put to shame.
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.
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You will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God—no other exists; never again will my people be put to shame.
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.
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After that I will pour out my spirit upon everyone; your sons and your 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.
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In those days, I will also pour out my spirit on the male and female slaves.
30 And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns of smoke.
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I will give signs 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.
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The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.
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.
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But everyone who calls on the LORD's name will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be security, as the LORD has promised; and in Jerusalem, the LORD will summon those who survive.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible