[2:1] Blow the trumpet; sound the alarm on Zion, God's sacred hill. Tremble, people of Judah! The day of the Lord is coming soon.
[2:2] It will be a dark and gloomy day, a black and cloudy day. The great army of locusts advances like darkness spreading over the mountains. There has never been anything like it, and there never will be again.
[2:3] Like fire they eat up the plants. In front of them the land is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them it is a barren desert. Nothing escapes them.
[2:4] They look like horses; they run like war-horses.
[2:5] As they leap on the tops of the mountains, they rattle like chariots; they crackle like dry grass on fire. They are lined up like a great army ready for battle.
[2:6] As they approach, everyone is terrified; every face turns pale.
[2:7] They attack like warriors; they climb the walls like soldiers. They all keep marching straight ahead and do not change direction
[2:8] or get in each other's way. They swarm through defenses, and nothing can stop them.
[2:9] They rush against the city; they run over the walls; they climb up the houses and go in through the windows like thieves.
[2:10] The earth shakes as they advance; the sky trembles. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.
[2:11] The Lord thunders commands to his army. The troops that obey him are many and mighty. How terrible is the day of the Lord! Who will survive it?