The Day of the Lord

Joel 2

1 Blow a the 1 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 2 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 3 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 4 column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not 5 cut down. 6
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?

  1. Cross References
    Jeremiah 4:5
    Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: "Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry, 'Gather together,' And say, 'Assemble yourselves, And let us go into the fortified cities.
    Joel 2:15
    Blow the trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly.
    Zephaniah 1:16
    A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.
  2. Cross References
    Numbers 10:5
    When you sound the advance, the camps that lie on the east side shall then begin their journey.
  3. Cross References
    Joel 1:15
    Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
    Joel 2:11
    The 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?
    Joel 2:31
    The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
    Joel 3:14
    Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
    Zephaniah 1:14
    The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
  4. Cross References
    Joel 2:10
    The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
    Joel 2:31
    The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
    Amos 5:18
    Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
    Zephaniah 1:15
    That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness.
  5. Cross References
    Joel 1:6
    For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
    Joel 2:11
    The 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?
    Joel 2:25
    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.
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 10:14
    And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.
    Lamentations 1:12
    Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Behold and see If there is any sorrow like my sorrow, Which has been brought on me, Which the LORD has inflicted In the day of His fierce anger.
    Daniel 9:12
    And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.
    Daniel 12:1
    At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book.
    Joel 1:2
    Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers?
  7. Cross References
    Genesis 2:8
    The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
    Isaiah 51:3
    For the LORD will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in it, Thanksgiving and the voice of melody.
    Ezekiel 36:35
    "So they will say, 'This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.'
  8. Cross References
    Exodus 10:5
    And they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the field.
    Exodus 10:15
    For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the field throughout all the land of Egypt.
    Psalms 105:34
    He spoke, and locusts came, Young locusts without number.
    Psalms 105:35
    And ate up all the vegetation in their land, And devoured the fruit of their ground.
    Zechariah 7:14
    "But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate."
  9. Cross References
    Revelation 9:7
    The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men.
  10. Cross References
    Revelation 9:9
    And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:8
    And they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; They will be amazed at one another; Their faces will be like flames.
    Jeremiah 8:21
    For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me.
    Lamentations 4:8
    Now their appearance is blacker than soot; They go unrecognized in the streets; Their skin clings to their bones, It has become as dry as wood.
    Nahum 2:10
    She is empty, desolate, and waste! The heart melts, and the knees shake; Much pain is in every side, And all their faces are drained of color.
  12. Cross References
    Proverbs 30:27
    The locusts have no king, Yet they all advance in ranks.
  13. Cross References
    Jeremiah 9:21
    For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children - no longer to be outside! And the young men - no longer on the streets!
  14. Cross References
    John 10:1
    Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
  15. Cross References
    Psalms 18:7
    Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken, Because He was angry.
    Joel 3:16
    The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
    Nahum 1:5
    The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.
  16. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:10
    For the stars of heaven and their constellation...
    Isaiah 34:4
    All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And ...
    Jeremiah 4:23
    I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without f...
    Ezekiel 32:7
    When I put out your light, I will cover the hea...
    Ezekiel 32:8
    All the bright lights of the heavens I will mak...
    Joel 2:31
    The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the ...
    Joel 3:15
    The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars ...
    Matthew 24:29
    Immediately after the tribulation of those days...
    Revelation 8:12
    Then the fourth angel sounded: And a third of t...
  17. Cross References
    Jeremiah 25:30
    Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: 'The LORD will roar from on high, And utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will roar mightily against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
    Joel 3:16
    The LORD also will roar from Zion, And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people, And the strength of the children of Israel.
    Amos 1:2
    And he said: "The LORD roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.
  18. Cross References
    Jeremiah 50:34
    Their Redeemer is strong; The LORD of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, That He may give rest to the land, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
    Revelation 18:8
    Therefore her plagues will come in one day - death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
  19. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:7
    Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob's trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
    Amos 5:18
    Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
    Zephaniah 1:15
    That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness.
  20. Cross References
    Malachi 3:2
    But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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