Joel 2 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Day of the Lord

2 Blow ^(A)the ^[a]trumpet in Zion,
And ^(B)sound an alarm in My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
For ^(C)the day of the Lord is coming,
For it is at hand:
^{2 (D)}A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
^(E)A people come, great and strong,
^(F)The like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations.

³ A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like ^(G)the Garden of Eden before them,
^(H)And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
^{4 (I)}Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like ^[b]swift steeds, so they run.
^{5 (J)}With a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.

⁶ Before them the people writhe in pain;
^(K)All faces ^[c]are drained of color.
⁷ They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ^(L)ranks.
⁸ They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own ^[d]column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not ^[e]cut down.
⁹ They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They ^(M)enter at the windows ^(N)like a thief.

^{10 (O)}The earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
^(P)The sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
^{11 (Q)}The Lord gives voice before His army,
For His camp is very great;
^(R)For strong is the One who executes His word.
For the ^(S)day of the Lord is great and very terrible;
^(T)Who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

¹² “Now, therefore,” says the Lord,
^(U)“Turn to Me with all your heart,
With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.”
¹³ So ^(V)rend your heart, and not ^(W)your garments;
Return to the Lord your God,
For He is ^(X)gracious and merciful,
Slow to anger, and of great kindness;
And He relents from doing harm.
^{14 (Y)}Who knows if He will turn and relent,
And leave ^(Z)a blessing behind Him—
^(AA)A grain offering and a drink offering
For the Lord your God?

^{15 (AB)}Blow the ^[f]trumpet in Zion,
^(AC)Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
¹⁶ Gather the people,
^(AD)Sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and nursing babes;
^(AE)Let the bridegroom go out from his chamber,
And the bride from her dressing room.
¹⁷ Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep ^(AF)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, ^(AG)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should ^[g]rule over them.
^(AH)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”

The Land Refreshed^(AI)

¹⁸ Then the Lord will ^(AJ)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
¹⁹ The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you ^(AK)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

²⁰ “But ^(AL)I will remove far from you ^(AM)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back ^(AN)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done ^[h]monstrous things.”

²¹ Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done ^[i]marvelous things!
²² Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For ^(AO)the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
²³ Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And ^(AP)rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the ^[j]former rain faithfully,
And He ^(AQ)will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
²⁴ The threshing floors shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

²⁵ “So I will restore to you the years ^(AR)that the swarming ^[k]locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.
²⁶ You shall ^(AS)eat in plenty and be satisfied,
And praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And My people shall never be put to ^(AT)shame.
²⁷ Then you shall know that I am ^(AU)in the midst of Israel:
^(AV)I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.

God’s Spirit Poured Out

²⁸ “And^(AW) it shall come to pass afterward
That ^(AX)I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
^(AY)Your sons and your ^(AZ)daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
²⁹ And also on My ^(BA)menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

³⁰ “And ^(BB)I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
^{31 (BC)}The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
^(BD)Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
³² And it shall come to pass
That ^(BE)whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be ^[l]saved.
For ^(BF)in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be ^[m]deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among ^(BG)the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Footnotes

1. Joel 2:1 ram’s horn
2. Joel 2:4 Or horsemen
3. Joel 2:6 LXX, Tg., Vg. gather blackness
4. Joel 2:8 Lit. highway
5. Joel 2:8 Halted by losses
6. Joel 2:15 ram’s horn
7. Joel 2:17 Or speak a proverb against them
8. Joel 2:20 Lit. great
9. Joel 2:21 Lit. great
10. Joel 2:23 Or teacher of righteousness
11. Joel 2:25 Exact identity of these locusts unknown
12. Joel 2:32 Or delivered
13. Joel 2:32 Or salvation

Cross references

1. Joel 2:1 : Jer. 4:5; Joel 2:15; Zeph. 1:16
2. Joel 2:1 : Num. 10:5
3. Joel 2:1 : Joel 1:15; 2:11, 31; 3:14; [Obad. 15]; Zeph. 1:14
4. Joel 2:2 : Joel 2:10, 31; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:15
5. Joel 2:2 : Joel 1:6; 2:11, 25
6. Joel 2:2 : Ex. 10:14; Lam. 1:12; Dan. 9:12; 12:1; Joel 1:2
7. Joel 2:3 : Gen. 2:8; Is. 51:3; Ezek. 36:35
8. Joel 2:3 : Ex. 10:5, 15; Ps. 105:34, 35; Zech. 7:14
9. Joel 2:4 : Rev. 9:7
10. Joel 2:5 : Rev. 9:9
11. Joel 2:6 : Is. 13:8; Jer. 8:21; Lam. 4:8; Nah. 2:10
12. Joel 2:7 : Prov. 30:27
13. Joel 2:9 : Jer. 9:21
14. Joel 2:9 : John 10:1
15. Joel 2:10 : Ps. 18:7; Joel 3:16; Nah. 1:5
16. Joel 2:10 : Is. 13:10; 34:4; Jer. 4:23; Ezek. 32:7, 8; Joel 2:31; 3:15; Matt. 24:29; Rev. 8:12
17. Joel 2:11 : Jer. 25:30; Joel 3:16; Amos 1:2
18. Joel 2:11 : Jer. 50:34; Rev. 18:8
19. Joel 2:11 : Jer. 30:7; Amos 5:18; Zeph. 1:15
20. Joel 2:11 : [Mal. 3:2]
21. Joel 2:12 : [Deut. 4:29]; Jer. 4:1; Ezek. 33:11; Hos. 12:6; 14:1
22. Joel 2:13 : [Ps. 34:18; 51:17; Is. 57:15]
23. Joel 2:13 : Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 1:11; Job 1:20; Jer. 41:5
24. Joel 2:13 : [Ex. 34:6]
25. Joel 2:14 : Josh. 14:12; 2 Sam. 12:22; 2 Kin. 19:4; Jer. 26:3; Jon. 3:9
26. Joel 2:14 : Hag. 2:19
27. Joel 2:14 : Joel 1:9, 13
28. Joel 2:15 : Num. 10:3; 2 Kin. 10:20
29. Joel 2:15 : Joel 1:14
30. Joel 2:16 : Ex. 19:10
31. Joel 2:16 : Ps. 19:5
32. Joel 2:17 : Matt. 23:35
33. Joel 2:17 : Ex. 32:11, 12; [Is. 37:20]; Amos 7:2, 5
34. Joel 2:17 : Ps. 42:10
35. Joel 2:18 : Acts 2:17
36. Joel 2:18 : [Is. 60:10; 63:9, 15]
37. Joel 2:19 : Jer. 31:12; Hos. 2:21, 22; Joel 1:10; [Mal. 3:10]
38. Joel 2:20 : Ex. 10:19
39. Joel 2:20 : Jer. 1:14, 15
40. Joel 2:20 : Deut. 11:24
41. Joel 2:22 : Joel 1:19
42. Joel 2:23 : Deut. 11:14; Is. 41:16; Jer. 5:24; Hab. 3:18; Zech. 10:7
43. Joel 2:23 : Lev. 26:4; Hos. 6:3; Zech. 10:1; James 5:7
44. Joel 2:25 : Joel 1:4–7; 2:2–11
45. Joel 2:26 : Lev. 26:5; Deut. 11:15; Is. 62:9
46. Joel 2:26 : Is. 45:17
47. Joel 2:27 : Lev. 26:11, 12; [Joel 3:17, 21]
48. Joel 2:27 : [Is. 45:5, 6]
49. Joel 2:28 : Ezek. 39:29; Acts 2:17–21
50. Joel 2:28 : Zech. 12:10
51. Joel 2:28 : Is. 54:13
52. Joel 2:28 : Acts 21:9
53. Joel 2:29 : [1 Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:28]
54. Joel 2:30 : Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24, 25; Luke 21:11, 25, 26; Acts 2:19
55. Joel 2:31 : Is. 13:9, 10; 34:4; Joel 2:10; 3:15; Matt. 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12, 13
56. Joel 2:31 : Is. 13:9; Zeph. 1:14–16; [Mal. 4:1, 5, 6]
57. Joel 2:32 : Jer. 33:3; Acts 2:21; Rom. 10:13
58. Joel 2:32 : Is. 46:13; [Rom. 11:26]
59. Joel 2:32 : Is. 11:11; Jer. 31:7; [Mic. 4:7]; Rom. 9:27