¹Blow the ramshorn in Zion,

And sound the alarm on my holy mountain.

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,

For the day of the Lord is coming,

For it is near.

²It is a day of darkness and dimness,

A day of cloud and gloom,

Like blackness spreading over the mountains,

Consisting of a numerous and strong people.

There has not been anything like it from ancient time,

Nor will there again be after it,

In the years of generation after generation.

³Fire will consume in front of them,

And behind them a flame will spread a conflagration.

The land in front of them is like the garden of Eden,

But behind them is a desolate desert,

And they will not have anyone who escapes it.

⁴Their appearance is as the appearance of horses,

And they run like horsemen.

⁵They rattle along over the tops of hills

With the noise of chariots

And with a sound like a flame devouring stubble.

They are a powerful people,

Equipped for war.

⁶In their presence nations will writhe;

All faces will lose their shine.

⁷Like warriors they run;

Like men of war, they climb a wall.

And each one marches in his file,

And they do not break ranks.

⁸And no-one jostles his neighbour;

Each man walks on his path.

And when they fall, hit by a missile,

They do not break up the formation.

⁹In the city, they scurry to and fro,

And they run on the wall.

They climb into houses;

They come through windows like a thief.

¹⁰In front of them the earth will tremble,

And the heavens will shake.

The sun and moon will be darkened,

And the stars will withdraw their brightness.

¹¹And the Lord will sound his voice before his army

(For his camp is very mighty),

And he who gives his word is powerful.

For great is the day of the Lord,

And quite terrible,

And who can endure it?

¹²And even now,

Says the Lord,

Return to me with your whole heart,

And with fasting and with weeping

And with mourning.

¹³And tear your heart,

And not your clothes,

And return to the Lord your God,

For he is gracious and merciful,

Longsuffering and of great kindness,

Who repents of doing harm.

¹⁴Who knows if they will return and repent,

And leave a gift behind

– A meal-offering and a libation

To the Lord your God?

¹⁵Sound the ramshorn in Zion,

Hold a holy fast;

Proclaim a solemn assembly.

¹⁶Gather the people,

Proclaim a holy convocation,

Assemble the elders;

Gather the children

And those who are breastfed.

Let the bridegroom go out of his room,

And the bride go out of her bridal chamber.

¹⁷Between the portico and the altar,

Let the priests – the servants of the Lord – weep,

And let them say,

“Take pity, O Lord on your people,

And do not allow your inheritance to become a reproach,

By which the Gentiles would have a proverb against them.

Why should those among the Gentiles say,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

¹⁸And the Lord will be zealous for his land,

And he will spare his people.

¹⁹And the Lord will answer

And will say to his people,

“Look, I am sending you corn and new wine and new oil,

And you will be satisfied with it,

And I will no longer make you a reproach among the Gentiles.

²⁰And I will remove the northerner from you,

And I will drive him out into a dry and desolate land,

With his face towards the eastern sea,

And his rear towards the western sea,

And his stench will go up,

And his foul smell will rise,

For he acted presumptuously in what he did.

²¹Do not fear, O land;

Rejoice and be happy,

For the Lord has presumed to act.

²²Do not fear, you wild animals,

For the pastures of the desert will sprout grass,

For the tree will bear its fruit;

The fig tree and the vine will yield their richness.

²³So, you sons of Zion,

Be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God,

For he has given you the teacher of righteousness,

And he has brought down rain upon you,

Early rain and late rain, as aforetime.

²⁴And the threshing floors will be full of grain,

And the vats will overflow with new wine and new oil.

²⁵And I will restore to you the years

Which the swarming locust devoured,

And the devouring locust, and the consuming locust and the gnawing locust

– My great army which I sent against you.

²⁶And you will eat freely and be satisfied,

And you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

Who dealt wondrously with you,

And my people will never be ashamed.

²⁷And you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,

And that I am the Lord your God,

And that there is no other.

And my people will never be ashamed.”

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance,

As the Lord has said,

And for the remnants whom the Lord calls.

Reference(s) in Chapter 2: v.1 ↔ Revelation 1:10 ● v.11 ↔ Revelation 1:10 ● v.28 ↔ Acts 2:17 ● v.29 ↔ Acts 2:18 ● v.30 ↔ Acts 2:19 ● v.31 ↔ Acts 2:20, Revelation 6:12 ● v.32 ↔ Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13.