Joel 2:1-32

Blow the shofar in Zion, sound the alarm on my mountain of holiness! Shake the people awake, for the day of YAHWEH is coming. Yes, it is almost here. It will be a day of darkness and gloom, a black and cloudy day. As the dawning light spreads across the mountains, so will a great and powerful people advance, an army such as has never been seen before and such as will never be seen again, not even in all the ages to come. Fire blazes before them, and behind them the flame consumes. Before their eyes, the earth is like the garden of Eden, and behind them they leave a devastated wilderness. Nothing escapes them unscathed. Their appearance is like horses prepared for battle; like war horses, they charge ahead. They rumble like war chariots; they leap over the mountaintops. They devour the land, with the sound of a wildfire devouring stubble. They are a mighty people who are prepared for the battle. At the sight of this army, nations panic, all their faces grow pale. They press forward like mighty warriors, and scale walls like elite soldiers, each marching straight ahead, not swerving from his path. They never jostle each other, for each one stays on his own path. They storm the city and burst through its defenses. Together they are unstoppable. They rush against the city and scale its walls. They climb up into the houses and enter through the windows like thieves. YAHWEH As that army advances, the earth shakes, and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine. YAHWEH’s voice thunders as he leads his valiant troops. Numberless are the mighty ones who obey his commands. Yes, the day of YAHWEH is great and astonishing! Who can withstand it? “But it’s not too late,” declares YAHWEH. “Come back to me now with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tearing your clothes in sorrow is not enough— tear open your hearts!” Come back to YAHWEH your God, for he is gracious to welcome you home and compassionate to embrace you. YAHWEH is slow to anger and so rich in extravagant love for you. He is always ready to forgive and cancel judgment. Who knows if he will not turn around and show pity, leaving behind a blessing. Then you can bring offerings of grain and wine to be presented to YAHWEH your God. Blow the shofar in Zion! Call for a fast and proclaim a solemn assembly. Gather the people together, and prepare them for a sacred meeting. From the oldest to the youngest, assemble the community, even the nursing infants. Let the newly wedded bride and bridegroom come from their chamber. With everyone gathered in the courtyard, the priests, the ministers of YAHWEH, must stand weeping between the portico and the altar of burnt offering. Let them face the sanctuary and intercede, saying, “Spare your people! Have pity, YAHWEH! Do not expose your very own people to the contempt and sarcasm of the nations. Why give the nations cause to say, ‘Where is their God now?’ ” YAHWEH Then YAHWEH showed his great love for the land and showered compassion upon his people. YAHWEH answered their cry and said, “Behold, now your fast is over. I am providing you with plenty of wheat, wine, and olive oil until you are satisfied. Never again will I make you an object of scorn among the nations. I will remove your northern enemy far from you and drive him into a dry, desolate land, with his front ranks to the Dead Sea and his rear guard to the Mediterranean Sea. I will destroy them for their boastful deeds, and people will smell the stench of their dead bodies.” Truly, he has done great things! My land, do not fear, for your restoration has come! Be glad and rejoice, you people, for YAHWEH has done marvelous things for you. Animals of the field, do not be afraid, for the pastures of the wilderness are green again, the trees bear their fruit, and the vine and fig tree yield their richness. Children of Zion, be glad! Celebrate the mighty acts of YAHWEH your God, for he has given you a teacher of righteousness whose teaching is like the refreshing spring rains. And he will pour down the rains for you, the spring and autumn rains as before. YAHWEH “The threshing floors will be full of grain, the pits beside the presses will overflow with new wine and fresh oil. I will make up for the years the swarms of locusts ruined your harvest— the hopping-locusts, the destroying-locusts, and the cutting-locusts— my great army that I sent against you. You will eat to your heart’s content and be satisfied. You will gloriously praise the name of YAHWEH your God, who has treated you so wonderfully. And never will my people be despised again. Then, Israel, you will know without question that I am dwelling among you. I am YAHWEH your God, and no one else. I say again: no more will I surrender my people to shame.” “Then afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and your daughters will boldly prophesy, your elderly will have supernatural dreams, and your youth will experience ecstatic visions. And I will even pour out my Spirit in those days upon every servant, both male and female. “And I will display amazing wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be darkened, and the moon will appear as red as blood. These events will occur before the great and awesome day of YAHWEH comes. And everyone who sincerely worships YAHWEH will be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be a remnant who are spared, as I, YAHWEH, have promised. They will be the chosen survivors whom I, YAHWEH, will call.”