Joel 2:3-9
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 2
3A fire consumes before them, And behind them a flame devours. The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. 4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run. 5 With a noise as of chariots They leap about on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people drawn up for battle. 6Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale. 7They run like warriors, They climb the wall like soldiers; And each of them marches in line, Nor do they lose their way. 8They do not crowd each other, Every warrior of them marches in his path; When they burst through the defenses, They do not break ranks. 9They storm the city, They run on the wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.King James Version
Chapter 2
3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 2
3A fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame blazes. The land in front of them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them. 4Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like war horses.
5They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war.
6Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale.
7They attack as warriors attack; they scale walls as men of war do. Each goes on his own path, and they do not change their course.
8They do not push each other; each proceeds on his own path. They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
New Living Translation
Chapter 2
3Fire 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. 4They look like horses; they charge forward like warhorses. 5Look 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.
6Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.
7The attackers march like warriors and scale city walls like soldiers. Straight forward they march, never breaking rank.
8They never jostle each other; each moves in exactly the right position. They break through defenses without missing a step.
9They swarm over the city and run along its walls. They enter all the houses, climbing like thieves through the windows.
English Standard Version
Chapter 2
3Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. 4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. 5As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains, like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, like a powerful army drawn up for battle. 6Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. 7Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. 8They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. 9They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.New International Version
Chapter 2
3Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste-- nothing escapes them. 4They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.
5With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.
7They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course.
8They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks.
New King James Version
