1 BLOW THE trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on My holy Mount [Zion]. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of [the judgment of] the Lord is coming; it is close at hand-- 2 A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and of thick mists and darkness, like the morning dawn spread upon the mountains; so there comes a [heathen, hostile] people numerous and mighty, the like of which has never been before and shall not be again even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yes, and none has escaped [the ravages of the devouring hordes].
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses and horsemen, so do they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains they leap--like the noise of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a mighty people set in battle array.
6 Before them the peoples are in anguish; all faces become pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war. They march each one [straight ahead] on his ways, and they do not break their ranks. 8 Neither does one thrust upon another; they walk every one in his path. And they burst through and upon the weapons, yet they are not wounded and do not change their course. 9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up on and into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. 11 And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God's] word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can endure it?