| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1Blow 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 is coming, For it is at hand: | 1Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear, for the day of the LORD is about to come. Indeed, it is near! |
| 2A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations. | 2It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army--there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come! |
| 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. | 3Like fire they devour everything in their path; a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness--for nothing escapes them! |
| 4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. | 4They look like horses; they charge ahead like war horses. |
| 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. | 5They sound like chariots rumbling over mountain tops, like the crackling of blazing fire consuming stubble, like the noise of a mighty army being drawn up for battle. |
| 6Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. | 6People writhe in fear when they see them. All of their faces turn pale with fright. |
| 7They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like men of war; Every one marches in formation, And they do not break ranks. | 7They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. Each one proceeds on his course; they do not alter their path. |
| 8They do not push one another; Every one marches in his own column. Though they lunge between the weapons, They are not cut down. | 8They do not jostle one another; each of them marches straight ahead. They burst through the city defenses and do not break ranks. |
| 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. | 9They rush into the city; they scale its walls. They climb up into the houses; they go in through 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. | 10The earth quakes before them; the sky reverberates. The sun and the moon grow dark; the stars refuse to shine. |
| 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? | 11The voice of the LORD thunders as he leads his army. Indeed, his warriors are innumerable; Surely his command is carried out! Yes, the day of the LORD is awesome and very terrifying--who can survive it? |
| 12“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” | 12"Yet even now," the LORD says, "return to me with all your heart--with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Tear your hearts, not just your garments!" |
| 13So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. | 13Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and boundless in loyal love--often relenting from calamitous punishment. |
| 14Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him— A grain offering and a drink offering For the LORD your God? | 14Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake--a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the LORD your God! |
| 15Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; | 15Blow the trumpet in Zion. Announce a holy fast; proclaim 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. | 16Gather the people; sanctify an assembly! Gather the elders; gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom and the bride from her private quarters. |
| 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 rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’ ” | 17Let the priests, those who serve the LORD, weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar. Let them say, "Have pity, O LORD, on your people; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked, to become a proverb among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, "Where is their God?" |
| 18Then the LORD will be zealous for His land, And pity His people. | 18Then the LORD became zealous for his land; he had compassion on his people. |
| 19The LORD will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil, And you will be satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations. | 19The LORD responded to his people, "Look! I am about to restore your grain as well as fresh wine and olive oil. You will be fully satisfied. I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations. |
| 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 monstrous things.” | 20I will remove the one from the north far from you. I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place. Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea, and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise up as a foul smell." Indeed, the LORD has accomplished great things. |
| 21Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! | 21Do not fear, my land! Rejoice and be glad, because the LORD has accomplished great 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. | 22Do not fear, wild animals! For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass. Indeed, the trees bear their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest. |
| 23Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the 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. | 23Citizens of Zion, rejoice! Be glad because of what the LORD your God has done! For he has given to you the early rains as vindication. He has sent to you the rains--both the early and the late rains as formerly. |
| 24The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. | 24The threshing floors are full of grain; the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil. |
| 25“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. | 25I will make up for the years that the 'arbeh -locust consumed your crops--the yeleq -locust, the hasil -locust, and the gazam -locust--my great army that I sent against 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. | 26You will have plenty to eat, and your hunger will be fully satisfied; you will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has acted wondrously in your behalf. My people will never again 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. | 27You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel. I am the LORD your God; there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame. |
| 28“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. | 28After all of this I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your elderly will have revelatory dreams; your young men will see prophetic visions. |
| 29And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. | 29Even on male and female servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days. |
| 30“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. | 30I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth--blood, fire, and columns 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. | 31The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the LORD comes--that great and terrible day! |
| 32And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the LORD has said, Among the remnant whom the LORD calls. | 32It will so happen that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered. For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive, just as the LORD has promised; the remnant will be those whom the LORD will call. |
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