1
jver. 15; Isa. 58:1; Hos. 5:8; Amos 3:6 Blow a trumpet inkSee ch. 3:17 Zion;
sound an alarm onkSee ch. 3:17 my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
forlSee ch. 1:15 the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 mAmos 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:15 a day of darkness and gloom,
mAmos 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:15 a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
nch. 1:6; [ver. 11, 25] a great and powerful people;
o[ch. 1:2] their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.
3 pch. 1:19, 20 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is likeqGen. 2:8, 9; See Isa. 51:3 the garden of Eden before them,
butrZech. 7:14 behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.
4 sRev. 9:7 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 tRev. 9:9; [Nah. 3:2] As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling ofuIsa. 5:24; 47:14; Obad. 18; Nah. 1:10 a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
n[See ver. 2 above] like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
vNah. 2:10 all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
wProv. 30:27 each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 xIsa. 33:4 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
y[Jer. 9:21] they climb up into the houses,
y[Jer. 9:21] they enter through the windowsz[John 10:1] like a thief.
10 ach. 3:16; [Ps. 18:7; Amos 8:8] The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
bch. 3:15; Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Matt. 24:29; [Rev. 9:2] The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 cch. 3:16; [1 Thess. 4:16] The Lord utters his voice
beforedver. 25 his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
eRev. 18:8 he who executes his word is powerful.
fSee ch. 1:15 For the day of the Lord isgver. 31 great and very awesome;
hMal. 3:2; [Num. 24:23] who can endure it?
12
“Yet even now, ” declares the Lord,
iDeut. 4:30; 1 Sam. 7:3; Jer. 4:1; Hos. 12:6 “return to me with all your heart,
j[1 Sam. 7:6] with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 andk[Ps. 34:18] rend your hearts and notlSee Gen. 37:29 your garments. ”
Return to the Lord, your God,
mEx. 34:6; Ps. 86:5, 15; Jonah 4:2 for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
n[Num. 23:19; Ezek. 24:14] and he relents over disaster.
14 oJonah 3:9 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
andpHag. 2:19; Mal. 3:10 leave a blessing behind him,
qch. 1:9, 13 a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15 rSee ver. 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sSee ch. 1:14 consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
tSee Josh. 3:5 Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
u[2 Chr. 20:13] gather the children,
even nursing infants.
v[Deut. 24:5; Eccles. 3:5; Zech. 12:12-14; 1 Cor. 7:5] Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 wEzek. 8:16 Between thex1 Kgs. 6:3; 2 Chr. 3:4 vestibule and they2 Chr. 4:1 altar
zSee ch. 1:9 let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.1Or reproach, that the nations should rule over them
aPs. 42:3; 79:10; 115:2 Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God? ’ ”
18
bZech. 1:14; 8:2 Then the Lord became jealous for his land
c[Ps. 103:13] and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold,d[ch. 1:10; Ps. 4:7]; See Mal. 3:10-12 I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
d[ch. 1:10; Ps. 4:7]; See Mal. 3:10-12 and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.
20 I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard intoeEzek. 47:18; Zech. 14:8 the eastern sea,
and his rear guard intofZech. 14:8 the western sea;
gIsa. 34:3; [Amos 4:10] the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.
21 Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
forhPs. 126:2, 3 the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not,iSee ch. 1:18 you beasts of the field,
forj[ch. 1:19] the pastures of the wilderness are green;
k[Zech. 8:12] the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree andk[Zech. 8:12] vine give their full yield.
23 lPs. 100:1, 2; Hab. 3:18; Zech. 10:7 Be glad, O children of Zion,
andlPs. 100:1, 2; Hab. 3:18; Zech. 10:7 rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has givenmDeut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24 the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
mDeut. 11:14; Jer. 5:24 the early andnHos. 6:3 the latter rain, as before.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years
thatoch. 1:4 the swarming locust has eaten,
och. 1:4 the hopper,och. 1:4 the destroyer, andoch. 1:4 the cutter,
pver. 11 my great army, which I sent among you.
26 qLev. 25:19 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my peopler[Isa. 49:23] shall never again be put to shame.
27 sch. 3:17 You shall know that I amtHos. 11:9; See Ezek. 37:26 in the midst of Israel,
and thatuSee Ex. 20:2 I am the Lord your Godv[Isa. 44:8] and there is none else.
And my peopler[See ver. 26 above] shall never again be put to shame.
28
wver. 28-32, cited Acts 2:17-21 And it shall come to pass afterward,
thatxIsa. 32:15; Ezek. 39:29; Zech. 12:10; John 7:39 I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
y[Acts 2:39] your sons andz[Acts 21:9] your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 a[1 Cor. 12:13] Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
30 And I will showb[Matt. 24:30; Luke 21:11] wonders in the heavens andb[Matt. 24:30; Luke 21:11] on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 cSee ver. 10 The sun shall be turned to darkness,dRev. 6:12 and the moon to blood,eMal. 4:5 before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 32 And it shall come to pass thatfCited Rom. 10:13 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.gIsa. 46:13; 59:20; Obad. 17 For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and amonghJer. 31:7; Mic. 4:7; Zech. 8:12 the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.