3A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
And behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them.
4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like [b]swift steeds, so they run.
5With 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.

6Before them the people writhe in pain;
All faces [c]are drained of color.
7They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ranks.
8They 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.
9They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter at the windows like a thief.

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

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

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

21Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done [i]marvelous things!
22Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field;
For the open pastures are springing up,
And the tree bears its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the [j]former rain faithfully,
And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.
24The 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 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.
26You shall 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 shame.
27Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel:
I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall never be put to shame.

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