New Living Translation (NLT)
Joel 1
18 How the animals moan with hunger! The herds of cattle wander about confused, because they have no pasture. The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery.
19 LORD, help us! The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures, and flames have burned up all the trees.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to you because the streams have dried up, and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.
Joel 2
1 Sound the alarm in Jerusalem! Raise the battle cry on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the LORD is upon us.
2 It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of thick clouds and deep blackness. Suddenly, like dawn spreading across the mountains, a great and mighty army appears. Nothing like it has been seen before or will ever be seen again.
3 Fire burns in front of them, and flames follow after them. Ahead of them the land lies as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes.
4 They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses.
5 Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops. Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots, like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble, or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6 Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.
7 The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank.
8 They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.
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