1. Blow the ram’s horn in Zion,sound the alarm on My holy mountain!All the inhabitants of the earth will tremble,because the day of the Lord has come,because it is near—
2. a day of darkness and gloom,a day of clouds and thick darkness.Like blackness spreading over the mountain,a great and mighty army comes,such as was never before,and will never be again,even through the years of all generations.
3. Before them fire devours,and behind them a flame blazes;the land is like the garden of Eden before them,but behind them a desolate wasteland,and nothing escapes them.
4. They have the appearance of horses,and like cavalry they run.
5. As with the sound of chariots,they leap on the mountaintops,as with the sound of a flame of fire consuming stubble,as a mighty army arrayed for war.
6. Before them, peoples are tormented;every face turns pale.
7. Like mighty men they run,like men of war they scale a wall;each marches on his way,they do not swerve from their paths.
8. They do not jostle one another;each marches in his track.Through the weapons they plunge;they do not break rank.
9. They rush on the city,they run on the wall;they climb up into the houses,they enter through the windows like thieves.
10. Before them the earth quakes,the heavens shake;the sun and moon darken,and the stars withdraw their radiance.
11. The Lord has sounded His voicebefore His army,for His camp is exceedingly great;mighty is the one who accomplishes His word.For great is the day of the Lord,and very awe-inspiring.Who can endure it?
12. Yet even now, declares the Lord,return to Me with all your heart,and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning.