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Joel 2
Living Bible
Joel 2
Living Bible
2 Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Let the blast of the warning trumpet be heard upon my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear, for the day of the Lord’s judgment approaches.
2 It is a day of darkness and gloom, of black clouds and thick darkness. What a mighty army! It covers the mountains like night! How great, how powerful these “people” are! The likes of them have not been seen before, and never will again throughout the generations of the world! 3 Fire goes before them and follows them on every side! Ahead of them the land lies fair as Eden’s Garden in all its beauty, but they destroy it to the ground; not one thing escapes. 4 They look like tiny horses, and they run as fast. 5 Look at them leaping along the tops of the mountain! Listen to the noise they make, like the rumbling of chariots, or the roar of fire sweeping across a field, and like a mighty army moving into battle.
6 Fear grips the waiting people; their faces grow pale with fright. 7 These “soldiers” charge like infantry; they scale the walls like picked and trained commandos. Straight forward they march, never breaking ranks. 8 They never crowd each other. Each is right in place. No weapon can stop them. 9 They swarm upon the city; they run upon the walls; they climb up into the houses, coming like thieves through the windows. 10 The earth quakes before them and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon are obscured and the stars are hid.
11 The Lord leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the judgment of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can endure it?
12 That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me all your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, mourning. 13 Let your remorse tear at your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered; he is full of kindness and anxious not to punish you.
14 Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will decide to leave you alone and give you a blessing instead of his terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you can offer your grain and wine to the Lord as before!
15 Sound the trumpet in Zion! Call a fast and gather all the people together for a solemn meeting. 16 Bring everyone—the elders, the children, and even the babies. Call the bridegroom from his quarters and the bride from her privacy.
17 The priests, the ministers of God, will stand between the people and the altar, weeping; and they will pray, “Spare your people, O our God; don’t let the heathen rule them, for they belong to you. Don’t let them be disgraced by the taunts of the heathen who say, ‘Where is this God of theirs? How weak and helpless he must be!’”
18 Then the Lord will pity his people and be indignant for the honor of his land! 19 He will reply, “See, I am sending you much corn and wine and oil, to fully satisfy your need. No longer will I make you a laughingstock among the nations. 20 I will remove these armies from the north and send them far away; I will turn them back into the parched wastelands where they will die; half shall be driven into the Dead Sea and the rest into the Mediterranean, and then their rotting stench will rise upon the land. The Lord has done a mighty miracle for you.”
21 Fear not, my people; be glad now and rejoice, for he has done amazing things for you. 22 Let the flocks and herds forget their hunger; the pastures will turn green again. The trees will bear their fruit; the fig trees and grapevines will flourish once more. 23 Rejoice, O people of Jerusalem, rejoice in the Lord your God! For the rains he sends are tokens of forgiveness. Once more the autumn rains will come, as well as those of spring. 24 The threshing floors will pile high again with wheat, and the presses overflow with olive oil and wine.
25 “And I will give you back the crops the locusts ate!—my great destroying army that I sent against you. 26 Once again you will have all the food you want.
“Praise the Lord, who does these miracles for you. Never again will my people experience disaster such as this. 27 And you will know that I am here among my people Israel, and that I alone am the Lord your God. And my people shall never again be dealt a blow like this.
28 “After I have poured out my rains again, I will pour out my Spirit upon all of you! Your sons and daughters will prophesy; your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions. 29 And I will pour out my Spirit even on your slaves, men and women alike, 30 and put strange symbols in the earth and sky—blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
31 “The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible Day of the Lord shall come.
32 “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved; even in Jerusalem some will escape, just as the Lord has promised, for he has chosen some to survive.
Joel 2
New International Version
Joel 2
New International Version
An Army of Locusts
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord(D) is coming.
It is close at hand(E)—
2 a day of darkness(F) and gloom,(G)
a day of clouds(H) and blackness.(I)
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army(J) comes,
such as never was in ancient times(K)
nor ever will be in ages to come.
3 Before them fire(L) devours,
behind them a flame blazes.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,(M)
behind them, a desert waste(N)—
nothing escapes them.
4 They have the appearance of horses;(O)
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots(P)
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire(Q) consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;(R)
every face turns pale.(S)
7 They charge like warriors;(T)
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,(U)
not swerving(V) from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;(W)
like thieves they enter through the windows.(X)
10 Before them the earth shakes,(Y)
the heavens tremble,(Z)
the sun and moon are darkened,(AA)
and the stars no longer shine.(AB)
11 The Lord(AC) thunders(AD)
at the head of his army;(AE)
his forces are beyond number,
and mighty is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the Lord is great;(AF)
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?(AG)
Rend Your Heart
12 “Even now,” declares the Lord,
“return(AH) to me with all your heart,(AI)
with fasting and weeping and mourning.”
13 Rend your heart(AJ)
and not your garments.(AK)
Return(AL) to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,(AM)
slow to anger and abounding in love,(AN)
and he relents from sending calamity.(AO)
14 Who knows? He may turn(AP) and relent(AQ)
and leave behind a blessing(AR)—
grain offerings and drink offerings(AS)
for the Lord your God.
15 Blow the trumpet(AT) in Zion,(AU)
declare a holy fast,(AV)
call a sacred assembly.(AW)
16 Gather the people,
consecrate(AX) the assembly;
bring together the elders,(AY)
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom(AZ) leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister(BA) before the Lord,
weep(BB) between the portico and the altar.(BC)
Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,(BD)
a byword(BE) among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?(BF)’”
The Lord’s Answer
19 The Lord replied[a] to them:
“I am sending you grain, new wine(BI) and olive oil,(BJ)
enough to satisfy you fully;(BK)
never again will I make you
an object of scorn(BL) to the nations.
20 “I will drive the northern horde(BM) far from you,
pushing it into a parched and barren land;
its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea
and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.
And its stench(BN) will go up;
its smell will rise.”
Surely he has done great things!
21 Do not be afraid,(BO) land of Judah;
be glad and rejoice.(BP)
Surely the Lord has done great things!(BQ)
22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals,
for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.(BR)
The trees are bearing their fruit;
the fig tree(BS) and the vine(BT) yield their riches.(BU)
23 Be glad, people of Zion,
rejoice(BV) in the Lord your God,
for he has given you the autumn rains
because he is faithful.(BW)
He sends you abundant showers,(BX)
both autumn(BY) and spring rains,(BZ) as before.
24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain;
the vats will overflow(CA) with new wine(CB) and oil.
25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts(CC) have eaten(CD)—
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm[b]—
my great army(CE) that I sent among you.
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,(CF)
and you will praise(CG) the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders(CH) for you;
never again will my people be shamed.(CI)
27 Then you will know(CJ) that I am in Israel,
that I am the Lord(CK) your God,
and that there is no other;
never again will my people be shamed.(CL)
The Day of the Lord
28 “And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit(CM) on all people.(CN)
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,(CO)
your old men will dream dreams,(CP)
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants,(CQ) both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.(CR)
30 I will show wonders in the heavens(CS)
and on the earth,(CT)
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness(CU)
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.(CV)
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord(CW) will be saved;(CX)
for on Mount Zion(CY) and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,(CZ)
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors(DA)
whom the Lord calls.[c](DB)
Joel 2
King James Version
Joel 2
King James Version
2 Blow 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;
2 A 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.
3 A 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 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like 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.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They 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:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They 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 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 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?
12 Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:
13 And 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.
14 Who 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?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
16 Gather 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.
17 Let 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?
18 Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
19 Yea, 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:
20 But 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 savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be 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.
23 Be 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.
24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
26 And 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.
27 And 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.
28 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:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 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.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.