1
Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the
2
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful army comes;
their like has never been from of old,
nor will be again after them
in ages to come.
3
Fire devours in front of them,
and behind them a flame burns.
Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,
but after them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4
They have the appearance of horses,
and like war-horses they charge.
5
As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6
Before them peoples are in anguish,
all faces grow pale. 1
7
Like warriors they charge,
like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
they do not swerve from 2 their paths.
8
They do not jostle one another,
each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9
They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through 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
The
at the head of his army;
how vast is his host!
Numberless are those who obey his command.
Truly the day of the
terrible indeed--who can endure it?