1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming;
2 Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness! Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a people numerous and mighty! Their like has not been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of distant generations.
3 Before them a fire devours, and after them a flame enkindles; Like the garden of Eden is the land before them, and after them a desert waste; from them there is no escape.
4 Their appearance is that of horses; like steeds they run.
5 As with the rumble of chariots they leap on the mountaintops; As with the crackling of a fiery flame devouring stubble; Like a mighty people arrayed for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in torment, every face blanches.
7 Like warriors they run, like soldiers they scale the wall; They advance, each in his own lane, without swerving from their paths.
8 No one crowds another, each advances in his own track; Though they fall into the ditches, they are not checked.
9 They assault the city, they run upon the wall, they climb into the houses; In at the windows they come like thieves.
10 Before them the earth trembles, the heavens shake; The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness.
11 The LORD raises his voice at the head of his army; For immense indeed is his camp, yes, mighty, and it does his bidding. For great is the day of the LORD, and exceedingly terrible; who can bear it?
12 Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
13 Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment.
14 Perhaps he will again relent and leave behind him a blessing, Offerings and libations for the LORD, your God.
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly;
16 Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; Let the bridegroom quit his room, and the bride her chamber.
17 Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
18 Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.
19 The LORD answered and said to his people: See, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them; No more will I make you a reproach among the nations.
20 No, the northerner I will remove far from you, and drive him out into a land arid and waste, With his van toward the eastern sea, and his rear toward the western sea; And his foulness shall go up, and his stench shall go up.
21 Fear not, O land! exult and rejoice! for the LORD has done great things.
22 Fear not, beasts of the field! for the pastures of the plain are green; The tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and the vine give their yield.
23 And do you, O children of Zion, exult and rejoice in the LORD, your God! He has given you the teacher of justice: he has made the rain come down for you, the early and the late rain as before.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 And I will repay you for the years which the locust has eaten, The grasshopper, the devourer, and the cutter, my great army which I sent among you.
26 You shall eat and be filled, and shall praise the name of the LORD, your God, Because he has dealt wondrously with you; my people shall nevermore be put to shame.
27 And 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 nevermore be put to shame.
Versículos relacionados com Joel, 2:
Joel's chapter 2 describes a call to penance to the entire nation of Israel and a promise of restoration and blessings if they sincerely repent. There is also a description of a devastating army that God will send as a judgment on the people, but there is hope that those who turn to God will be saved. Below are five verses related to the themes of this chapter:
Psalm 51:17: "Sacrifices to God are the broken Spirit; to a broken and contrite heart thou shalt not despise, O God." This verse talks about what pleases God in terms of sacrifices. Joel also calls the people to sincerely repent of their sins and turn to God.
Isaiah 58:6: "This is not the fast I chose, that it loose the bandages of wickedness, who undoes the juggans and that they leave the oppressed, and shatters all yoke?" The fast mentioned in this verse is not just food abstinence, but a commitment to get rid of injustice and oppression. This relates to Joel's call for the people to regret their bad ways.
2 Chronicles 7:14: "And if my people, which is called by my name, humble themselves, and pray, and pursue my face, and convert from their evil ways, then I will hear from the heavens, and forgive the Your sins, and I will heal your land. " This verse talks about God's promise to forgive and heal those who repent and seek their face. It is a promise similar to what Joel makes to the people of Israel.
Jeremiah 31:18: "I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; and I will guide them, and I will give them consolation, namely, to those who cry." This verse talks about God's compassion for those who repent and turn to Him. Joel also talks about God restoring the nation of Israel if they turn to him with sincere hearts.
Revelation 9:3-4: "And from the smoke came on the earth; and they were given power, as the power that have the scorpions of the earth. Any vegetables, nor the tree, but only to men who do not have God's seal on their forehead. " This verse describes a pest of locusts that destroys only those who do not have the seal of God. This is similar to the description of Joel's army that will destroy the earth, but will spare those who turn to God.
Rozdziały: