1Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone living in the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh is coming; it is close at hand.
2It will be a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and deep shadows. Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, a great and powerful army is coming. There has never been an army like it, nor will there ever be again, not even for many generations to come.
3A fire consumes everything in front of them, and a flame burns everything behind them. Before them, the land is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it's a desolate wilderness. Indeed, nothing escapes them.
4They look like horses, and they run like warhorses.
5They leap like chariots crashing over mountain tops, like flames of fire devouring dry straw, like a mighty army ready for battle.
6People are terrified by their presence; every face turns pale.
7They charge like strong soldiers, climbing walls like warriors. They march in perfect lines, never breaking formation.
8None of them crowd each other; each one stays in his path. They break through defenses without breaking ranks.
9They rush into the city, run along the wall, climb into houses, and enter through windows like thieves.
10The earth shakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars stop shining.
11Yahweh shouts his command to his army, for his forces are immense. The one who carries out his orders is powerful. Indeed, the day of Yahweh is great and terrifying—who can survive it?
12“Even now,” says Yahweh, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with sorrow.”
13Tear your hearts, not just your clothes. Return to Yahweh, your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to get angry, and overflowing with loyal love, and he reconsiders sending disaster.
14Who knows? He might turn and reconsider, and leave a blessing behind him—a grain offering and a drink offering for Yahweh, your God.
15Blow the trumpet in Zion! Declare a holy fast. Call for a sacred assembly.
16Gather the people. Make the community holy. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, even babies. Let the groom come out of his room, and the bride out of hers.
17Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar. Let them say, “Spare your people, Yahweh! Don’t let your inheritance be shamed, or let the nations rule over them. Why should the peoples ask, ‘Where is their God?’”
18Then Yahweh showed fervent love for his land and had pity on his people.
19Yahweh answered his people: “Look, I am sending you grain, new wine, and olive oil, and you will have plenty. I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations.
20I will remove the northern army far from you. I will drive it into a dry, desolate land—its front toward the eastern sea and its rear toward the western sea. Its stench will rise, and its foul smell will spread easily, because it has done such terrible things.”
21Don’t be afraid, land! Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things.
22Don’t be afraid, field animals! For the wilderness pastures are green, the trees are bearing fruit, and the fig trees and grapevines are producing abundantly.
23“So be glad, people of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your God. For he gives you the autumn rains in the right amount; he sends down abundant rain for you, both the autumn and spring rains, as before.
24The threshing floors will be full of grain, and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
25I will give back the years that the swarming locusts have eaten, and the great locusts, the grasshoppers, and the caterpillars—my great army that I sent among you.
26You will have plenty to eat until you are full, and you will praise the name of Yahweh, your God, who has done wonderful things for you. My people will never again be put to shame.
27Then you will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.
28“Afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.
29In those days, I will also pour out my Spirit on servants, both men and women.
30I will show amazing signs in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
31The sun will turn dark, and the moon will turn blood red, before the great and terrifying day of Yahweh comes.
32Then, anyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be survivors, as Yahweh has promised, among the remnant whom Yahweh calls.