1  ^qBlow a trumpet in Zion;

sound an alarm on ^rmy holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming; ^sit is near,

2  a day of ^tdarkness and gloom,

^ua day of clouds and thick darkness!

Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains

a ^vgreat and powerful people;

^wtheir like has never been before,

nor will be again after them

through the years of all generations.

12  “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,

^g“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;

13  and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is ^hgracious and merciful,

slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;

and ⁱhe relents over disaster.

14  ^jWho knows whether he will not turn and relent,

and leave a ^kblessing behind him,

a ^lgrain offering and a drink offering

for the Lord your God?

15  ^mBlow the trumpet in Zion;

ⁿconsecrate a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

16  gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the ^oelders;

gather the children,

even nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

17  ^pBetween the vestibule and the altar

^qlet the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a ^rreproach,

a byword among the nations.¹

Why should they say among the peoples,

^s‘Where is their God?’”