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The Terrible Visitation

^1 (C1)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the ^(C2)day of the LORD is coming;
Surely it is near,

² A day of ^(C1)darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a ^(C2)great and mighty people;
There has ^(C3)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.

³ A ^(C1)fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is ^(C2)like the garden of Eden before them
But a ^(C3)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.

⁴ Their ^(C1)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.

^5 (F1)With a ^(C1)noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the ^(F2)crackling of a ^(C2)flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

⁶ Before them the people are in ^(C1)anguish;
All ^(C2)faces ^(F1)turn pale.

⁷ They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each ^(C1)march ^(F1)in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.

⁸ They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they ^(F1)burst through the ^(F2)defenses,
They do not break ranks.

⁹ They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the ^(C1)houses,
They ^(C2)enter through the windows like a thief.

¹⁰ Before them the earth ^(C1)quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The ^(C2)sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.

¹¹ The LORD ^(C1)utters His voice before ^(C2)His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For ^(C3)strong is he who carries out His word.
The ^(C4)day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
And ^(C5)who can endure it?

¹² "Yet even now," declares the LORD,
"^(C1)Return to Me with all your heart,
And with ^(C2)fasting, weeping and mourning;

¹³ And ^(C1)rend your heart and not ^(C2)your garments."
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is ^(C3)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And ^(C4)relenting of evil.

¹⁴ Who knows ^(C1)whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a ^(C2)blessing behind Him,
Even ^(C3)a grain offering and a drink offering
For the LORD your God?

^15 (C1)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
^(C2)Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,

¹⁶ Gather the people, ^(C1)sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the ^(C2)bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.

¹⁷ Let the priests, the LORD'S ministers,
Weep ^(C1)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, "^(C2)Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not make Your inheritance a ^(C3)reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
'^(C4)Where is their God?'"

Deliverance Promised

¹⁸ Then the LORD ^(F1)will be ^(C1)zealous for His land
And ^(F2)will have ^(C2)pity on His people.

¹⁹ The LORD ^(F1)will answer and say to His people,
"Behold, I am going to ^(C1)send you grain, new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with ^(F2)them;
And I will ^(C2)never again make you a reproach among the nations.

²⁰ "But I will remove the ^(C1)northern army far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the ^(C2)eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the ^(C3)western sea.
And its ^(C4)stench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
For it has done great things."

^21 (C1)Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For the LORD has done ^(C2)great things.

²² Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the ^(C1)pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded ^(F1)in full.

²³ So rejoice, O ^(C1)sons of Zion,
And ^(C2)be glad in the LORD your God;
For He has ^(C3)given you ^(F1)the early rain for your vindication.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The ^(F2)early and ^(F3)(C4)latter rain ^(F4)as before.

²⁴ The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will ^(C1)overflow with the new wine and oil.

²⁵ "Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming ^(C1)locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.

²⁶ "You will have plenty to ^(C1)eat and be satisfied
And ^(C2)praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has ^(C3)dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will ^(C4)never be put to shame.

²⁷ "Thus you will ^(C1)know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the LORD your God,
And there is ^(C2)no other;
And My people will never be ^(C3)put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

²⁸ "^(F1)(C1)It will come about after this
That I will ^(C2)pour out My Spirit on all ^(F2)(C3)mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.

²⁹ "Even on the ^(C1)male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the LORD

³⁰ "I will ^(C1)display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.

³¹ "The ^(C1)sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the ^(C2)great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

³² "And it will come about that ^(C1)whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For ^(C2)on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who ^(C3)escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the ^(C4)survivors whom the LORD calls.