2 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;^(A)
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming;^(B)
in fact, it is near—
² a day of darkness and gloom,^(C)
a day of clouds and total darkness,^(D)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people^(E) appears,
such as never existed in ages past^(F)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.^(G)

³ A fire devours in front of them,^(H)
and behind them a flame blazes.
The land in front of them
is like the garden of Eden,^(I)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;^(J)
there is no escape from them.