Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh is coming —it is indeed near. A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again for generations to come. Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame burns. Like the garden of Eden is the land before them, and after them it is like a desolate desert, and nothing can escape them. Like the appearance of horses is their appearance, and like horsemen they run; like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about; like the sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble; like a strong army arranged in rows for battle. From before them nations writhe, all faces turn pale. They run like mighty warriors, they scale the wall like men of war; each goes on its own way, and they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each goes on its own trail; and through the falling weapons, they are not halted. In the city they rush forth; on the walls they run. Into the houses they climb up; through the windows they enter like a thief. Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars have withheld their splendor And Yahweh utters his voice before his army, because his encampment is very large; strong is the one who carries out his decree, for great is the day of Yahweh and exceedingly fearful. Who can endure it? “And even now,” declares Yahweh, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing.” Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm. Who knows whether he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, an offering and a libation, for Yahweh your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call an assembly; gather the people, consecrate the assembly; assemble the elders, gather the children, even those who are breast-feeding; let the bridegroom come out from his private room, and the bride from her canopy. Between the colonnade and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep. And let them say, “Take pity, Yahweh, on your people. Do not make your inheritance a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say among the nations, ‘Where is their God?’ ”