263 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
263 lines
5.5 KiB
Markdown
Locusts Invade like an Army
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# Chapter 2
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1. Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem!
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Raise the alarm on my holy mountain!
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Let everyone tremble in fear
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because the day of the LORD is upon us.
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2. It is a day of darkness and gloom,
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a day of thick clouds and deep blackness.
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Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains,
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a great and mighty army appears.
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Nothing like it has been seen before
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or will ever be seen again.
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3. Fire burns in front of them,
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and flames follow after them.
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Ahead of them the land lies
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as beautiful as the Garden of Eden.
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Behind them is nothing but desolation;
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not one thing escapes.
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4. They look like horses;
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they charge forward like warhorses.
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5. Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.
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Listen to the noise they make--like the rumbling of chariots,
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like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,
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or like a mighty army moving into battle.
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6. Fear grips all the people;
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every face grows pale with terror.
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7. The attackers march like warriors
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and scale city walls like soldiers.
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Straight forward they march,
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never breaking rank.
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8. They never jostle each other;
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each moves in exactly the right position.
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They break through defenses
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without missing a step.
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9. They swarm over the city
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and run along its walls.
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They enter all the houses,
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climbing like thieves through the windows.
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10. The earth quakes as they advance,
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and the heavens tremble.
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The sun and moon grow dark,
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and the stars no longer shine.
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11. The LORD is at the head of the column.
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He leads them with a shout.
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This is his mighty army,
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and they follow his orders.
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The day of the LORD is an awesome, terrible thing.
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Who can possibly survive?
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A Call to Repentance
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12. That is why the LORD says,
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"Turn to me now, while there is time.
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Give me your hearts.
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Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
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13. Don't tear your clothing in your grief,
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but tear your hearts instead."
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Return to the LORD your God,
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for he is merciful and compassionate,
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slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
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He is eager to relent and not punish.
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14. Who knows? Perhaps he will give you a reprieve,
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sending you a blessing instead of this curse.
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Perhaps you will be able to offer grain and wine
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to the LORD your God as before.
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15. Blow the ram's horn in Jerusalem!
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Announce a time of fasting;
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call the people together
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for a solemn meeting.
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16. Gather all the people--
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the elders, the children, and even the babies.
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Call the bridegroom from his quarters
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and the bride from her private room.
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17. Let the priests, who minister in the LORD's presence,
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stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
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Let them pray, "Spare your people, LORD!
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Don't let your special possession become an object of mockery.
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Don't let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
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'Has the God of Israel left them?'"The LORD's Promise of Restoration
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18. Then the LORD will pity his people
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and jealously guard the honor of his land.
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19. The LORD will reply,
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"Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
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enough to satisfy your needs.
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You will no longer be an object of mockery
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among the surrounding nations.
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20. I will drive away these armies from the north.
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I will send them into the parched wastelands.
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Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
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and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.
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The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land."
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Surely the LORD has done great things!
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21. Don't be afraid, O land.
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Be glad now and rejoice,
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for the LORD has done great things.
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22. Don't be afraid, you animals of the field,
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for the wilderness pastures will soon be green.
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The trees will again be filled with fruit;
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fig trees and grapevines will be loaded down once more.
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23. Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
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Rejoice in the LORD your God!
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For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
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Once more the autumn rains will come,
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as well as the rains of spring.
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24. The threshing floors will again be piled high with grain,
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and the presses will overflow with new wine and olive oil.
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25. The LORD says, "I will give you back what you lost
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to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts,
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the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.
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It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
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26. Once again you will have all the food you want,
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and you will praise the LORD your God,
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who does these miracles for you.
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Never again will my people be disgraced.
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27. Then you will know that I am among my people Israel,
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that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other.
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Never again will my people be disgraced.The LORD's Promise of His Spirit
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28. "Then, after doing all those things,
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I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
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Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
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Your old men will dream dreams,
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and your young men will see visions.
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29. In those days I will pour out my Spirit
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even on servants--men and women alike.
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30. And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth--
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blood and fire and columns of smoke.
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31. The sun will become dark,
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and the moon will turn blood red
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before that great and terrible day of the LORD arrives.
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32. But everyone who calls on the name of the LORD
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will be saved,
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for some on Mount Zion in Jerusalem will escape,
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just as the LORD has said.
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These will be among the survivors
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whom the LORD has called.
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