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.

3  Fire devours before them,

and behind them a flame burns.

The land is like the garden of ^xEden before them,

but behind them a desolate wilderness,

and nothing escapes them.

4  ^yTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses,

and like war horses they run.

5  ^zAs with the rumbling of chariots,

they leap on the tops of the mountains,

like the crackling of a flame of fire

devouring the stubble,

like a powerful army

drawn up for battle.

6  Before them peoples are in anguish;

^aall faces grow pale.

7  ^bLike 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;

each marches in his path;

they burst through the weapons

and are not halted.

9  They leap upon the city,

they run upon the walls,

they climb up into the houses,

they enter through the windows like a thief.

10  The earth quakes before them;

the heavens tremble.

^cThe sun and the moon are ^ddarkened,

and the stars withdraw their shining.

11  The Lord utters his voice

before his army,

for his camp is exceedingly great;

he who executes his word is powerful.

For the day of the Lord is ^egreat and very awesome;

^fwho can endure it?

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?’”

18  Then the Lord became ^tjealous for his land

and had pity on his people.

19  The Lord answered and said to his people,

“Behold, I am sending to you

^ugrain, wine, and oil,

and you will be satisfied;

and I will no more make you

a reproach among the nations.

20  “I will remove the northerner far from you,

and drive him into a parched and desolate land,

his vanguard² into the ^veastern sea,

and his rear guard³ into the ^wwestern sea;

the ^xstench and foul smell of him will rise,

for he has done great things.

21  “Fear not, O land;

be glad and rejoice,

for ^ythe Lord has done great things!

22  Fear not, you ^zbeasts of the field,

for the ^apastures of the wilderness are green;

the tree bears its fruit;

the ^bfig tree and vine give their full yield.

23  “Be glad, O children of Zion,

and rejoice in the Lord your God,

for he has given the early rain for your vindication;

he has poured down for you abundant rain,

^cthe early and the latter rain, as before.

24  “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;

the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

25  I will restore⁴ to you the years

that the ^dswarming locust has eaten,

the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,

^emy great army, which I sent among you.

26  “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,

and praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has dealt wondrously with you.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.

27  You shall know that I am ^fin the midst of Israel,

and ^gthat I am the Lord your God and there is none else.

And my people shall never again be put to shame.

28  ^{5 h}“And it shall come to pass afterward,

that ⁱI will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

^jyour sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

your old men shall dream dreams,

and your young men shall see visions.

29  Even on the male and female servants

in those days I will pour out my Spirit.