An army of locusts

1Blow the trumpet in Zion;

sound the alarm on my holy hill.

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the Lord is coming.

It is close at hand –

2a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness.

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty army comes,

such as never was in ancient times

nor ever will be in ages to come.

3Before them fire devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,

behind them, a desert waste –

nothing escapes them.

4They have the appearance of horses;

they gallop along like cavalry.

5With a noise like that of chariots

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

6At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;

every face turns pale.

7They charge like warriors;

they scale walls like soldiers.

They all march in line,

not swerving from their course.

8They do not jostle each other;

each marches straight ahead.

They plunge through defences

without breaking ranks.

9They rush upon the city;

they run along the wall.

They climb into the houses;

like thieves they enter through the windows.

10Before them the earth shakes,

the heavens tremble,

the sun and moon are darkened,

and the stars no longer shine.

11The Lord thunders

at the head of his army;

his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the Lord is great;

it is dreadful.

Who can endure it?

Rend your heart

12‘Even now,’ declares the Lord,

‘return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.’

13Rend your heart

and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,

slow to anger and abounding in love,

and he relents from sending calamity.

14Who knows? He may turn and relent

and leave behind a blessing –

grain offerings and drink offerings

for the Lord your God.

15Blow the trumpet in Zion,

declare a holy fast,

call a sacred assembly.

16Gather the people,

consecrate the assembly;

bring together the elders,

gather the children,

those nursing at the breast.

Let the bridegroom leave his room

and the bride her chamber.

17Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,

weep between the portico and the altar.

Let them say, ‘Spare your people, Lord.

Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

“Where is their God?” ’

The Lord’s answer

18Then the Lord was jealous for his land

and took pity on his people.

19The Lord replied2:18,19 Or Lord will be jealous… / and take pity… / 19 The Lord will reply to them:

‘I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,

enough to satisfy you fully;

never again will I make you

an object of scorn to the nations.

20‘I will drive the northern horde 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 will go up;

its smell will rise.’

Surely he has done great things!

21Do not be afraid, land of Judah;

be glad and rejoice.

Surely the Lord has done great things!

22Do not be afraid, you wild animals,

for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green.

The trees are bearing their fruit;

the fig-tree and the vine yield their riches.

23Be glad, people of Zion,

rejoice in the Lord your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains

because he is faithful.

He sends you abundant showers,

both autumn and spring rains, as before.

24The threshing-floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.

25‘I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten –

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm2:25 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain. –

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 the Lord your God,

who has worked wonders for you;

never again will my people be shamed.

27Then you will know that I am in Israel,

that I am the Lord your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed.

The day of the Lord

28‘And afterwards,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

29Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

30I will show wonders in the heavens

and on the earth,

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

31The sun will be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

32And everyone who calls

on the name of the Lord will be saved;

for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

there will be deliverance,

as the Lord has said,

even among the survivors

whom the Lord calls.2:32 In Hebrew texts 2:28-32 is numbered 3:1-5.