Joel 2
2
1Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 #
Rev 9.7-9. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10#Rev 8.12. The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11#Rev 6.17. and the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
The Mercy of the Lord
12Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savor shall come up, because he hath done great things.
21Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things. 22Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 26And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.
The Outpouring of God's Spirit
28 #
Acts 2.17-21. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.
30And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31#Matt 24.29; Mark 13.24,25; Luke 21.25; Rev 6.12,13. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. 32#Rom 10.13. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.
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Joel 2: KJVAAE
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.
Joel 2
2
The Coming Day of the Lord
1Blow the trumpet on Zion.
Shout a warning on my holy mountain.
Let all the people who live in the land shake with fear.
The Lord’s special day is coming;
it is near.
2It will be a dark, gloomy day.
It will be a dark and cloudy day.
At sunrise you will see the army spread over the mountains.
It will be a great and powerful army.
There has never been anything like it before,
and there will never be anything like it again.
3The army will destroy the land like a burning fire.
In front of them the land will be like the Garden of Eden.
Behind them the land will be like an empty desert.
Nothing will escape them.
4They look like horses.
They run like war horses.
5Listen to them.
It is like the noise of chariots
riding over the mountains.
It is like the noise of flames
burning the chaff.
They are a powerful people,
who are ready for war.
6Before this army, people shake with fear.
Their faces become pale from fear.
7The soldiers run fast.
They climb over the walls.
Each soldier marches straight ahead.
They don’t move from their path.
8They don’t trip each other.
Each soldier walks in his own path.
If one of the soldiers is hit and falls down,
the others keep right on marching.
9They run to the city.
They quickly climb over the wall.
They climb into the houses.
They climb through the windows like thieves.
10Before them, earth and sky shake.
The sun and the moon become dark, and the stars stop shining.
11The Lord calls loudly to his army.
His camp is very large.
The army obeys his commands.
His army is very powerful.
The Lord’s special day is a great and terrible day.
No one can stop it.
The Lord Tells the People to Change
12This is the Lord’s message:
“Now come back to me with all your heart.
Cry and mourn, and don’t eat anything!
Show that you are sad for doing wrong.
13Tear your hearts,
not your clothes.#2:13 Tear your hearts, not your clothes People tore their clothes to show sadness. Here, God wants the people to feel sad for the bad things they had done.”
Come back to the Lord your God.
He is kind and merciful.
He does not become angry quickly.
He has great love.
Maybe he will change his mind
about the bad punishment he planned.
14Who knows, maybe he will change his mind
and leave behind a blessing for you.
Then you can give grain and drink offerings
to the Lord your God.
Pray to the Lord
15Blow the trumpet at Zion.
Call for a special meeting.
Call for a special time of fasting.
16Bring the people together.
Call for a special meeting.
Bring together the old men,
the children, and the small babies still at their mothers’ breasts.
Let the bride and her new husband
come from their bedroom.
17Let the priests, the Lord’s servants,
cry between the porch#2:17 porch An open area in front of the Temple. and the altar.
All of them should say this: “Lord, have mercy on your people.
Don’t let your people be put to shame.
Don’t let other people tell jokes about your people.
Don’t let the other nations laugh at us and say,
‘Where is their God?’”
The Lord Will Restore the Land
18Then the Lord cared very much about his land.
He felt sorry for his people.
19The Lord spoke to his people.
He said, “I will send you grain, wine, and oil.
You will have plenty.
I will not shame you among the nations anymore.
20No, I will force the people from the north#2:20 north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often came this way to attack Judah and Israel. to leave your land
and make them go into a dry, empty land.
Some of them will go to the eastern sea
and some to the western sea.
They did such terrible things,
but they will be like a dead and rotting body.
There will be such a terrible smell!”
The Land Will Be Made New Again
21Land, don’t be afraid.
Be happy and full of joy.
The Lord will do great things.
22Animals of the field, don’t be afraid.
The desert pastures will grow grass.
The trees will grow fruit.
The fig trees and the vines will grow plenty of fruit.
23So be happy, people of Zion.
Be joyful in the Lord your God.
He is good and will give you rain.
He will send the early rains and the late rains as before.
24The threshing floors will be filled with wheat,
and the barrels will overflow with wine and olive oil.
25“I, the Lord, sent my army against you.
The swarming locusts and the hopping locusts
and the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts#2:25 swarming locusts … cutting locusts See Joel 1:4. ate everything you had.
But I will pay you back
for those years of trouble.
26Then you will have plenty to eat.
You will be full.
You will praise the name of the Lord your God.
He has done wonderful things for you.
My people will never again be ashamed.
27You will know that I am with Israel.
You will know that I am the Lord your God.
There is no other God.
My people will never be ashamed again.”
God Will Give His Spirit to All People
28“After this,
I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants, both men and women.
30I will work wonders in the sky and on the earth.
There will be blood, fire, and thick smoke.
31The sun will be changed into darkness,
and the moon will be as red as blood.
Then the great and fearful day of the Lord will come!
32And everyone who trusts in the Lord#2:32 who trusts in the Lord Literally, “who calls on the name of the Lord,” meaning to show faith in him by worshiping him or praying to him for help. will be saved.
There will be survivors on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
just as the Lord said.
Yes, those left alive will be the ones
the Lord has called.
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