Græshoppeplagen ses som et tegn på og forvarsel om Guds dom
1Blæs i vædderhornet fra Zion. Lad præsterne sende signal fra Herrens hellige bjerg. Alle mennesker vil skælve, for dommens dag er nær.2Det bliver en mørk og dyster dag med kulsorte skyer på himlen. Som morgenlyset breder sig over bjergene, bevæger en mægtig fjendehær sig frem. Aldrig før har man set så vældig en hær, og aldrig siden skal man se dens lige.3Den stormer frem som en steppebrand. Foran den ligger landet grønt og frugtbart som Edens have, bagved den er landet øde som en ørken. Intet undslipper.4Det ligner en hær af heste, som stormer frem til angreb.5De springer hen over bjergene med en larm som stridsvogne i fuld fart. Man hører en knitren som en stubmark, der brænder. De rykker frem som en mægtig hær i kampformation.6Folkeslag gribes af frygt for dem, og alle ansigter bliver ligblege.7De stormer frem som veltrænede soldater og forcerer enhver forhindring. De styrer lige mod målet uden at komme ud af kurs.8De går ikke i vejen for hinanden, men holder retningen. De trænger frem gennem en regn af spyd, og lader sig ikke standse.9De kaster sig over byen. De løber oven på bymuren. De trænger ind i husene. De klatrer gennem vinduerne, som var de tyve.10Jorden skælver foran dem, og himlens kræfter rystes. Solen og månen formørkes, og stjernerne holder op med at skinne.11Herren fører an med et højt kommandoråb, for det er hans mægtige, talløse hær. En enorm skare står parat til at udføre hans ordrer. Det bliver en frygtelig dag, når Herren fælder sin dom. Hvem kan udholde den dag?
Et kald til omvendelse
12Herren siger: „Vend om til mig, mens der endnu er tid! Søg mig af hele jeres hjerte med anger, gråd og faste.13Sønderriv jeres hjerter, ikke jeres tøj.”[1] Vend om til Herren, jeres Gud, for han er nådig og barmhjertig. Der skal meget til, før han bliver vred, og han omslutter jer med sin trofaste kærlighed. Han er parat til at eftergive straffen.14Hvem ved? Det kan være, han standser straffen og velsigner jer i stedet, så der igen kan bringes afgrødeofre og drikofre til Herren, jeres Gud.15Blæs nu I vædderhornet fra Zions bjerg! Kald folket sammen til faste og bod.16Alle skal samles, både gamle og børn, ja selv spædbørn. Lad brudepar afbryde deres fest for at komme herhen.17Guds tjenere, præsterne, skal stille sig op mellem indgangen til templet og alteret, så de grædende kan gå i forbøn for landet. „Herre, skån dit folk,” skal de bede. „Lad ikke de andre folkeslag håne os og sige: ‚Hvor er jeres Gud, som skulle hjælpe jer?’ ”
Herren griber ind
18Da de havde gjort det, fik Herren medlidenhed med sit folk, og viste sin nidkærhed for det land, han havde givet dem.19Han svarede på sit folks bøn og sagde: „Jeg vil give jer korn, olivenolie og vin, så der er rigeligt til alle. I skal ikke længere hånes af de andre folkeslag.20Jeg vil fjerne hæren af græshopper fra nord. Størsteparten drives ud i ørkenen, mens fortropperne drukner i Det Døde Hav og bagtropperne i Middelhavet. Der bliver en voldsom stank af død.” Herren har gjort store ting!21Nu skal alle glæde og fryde sig, for Herren har gjort store ting for os.22Dyrene glæder sig, for græsset bliver grønt, og træerne bærer frugt. Figentræer og vinstokke giver igen en rigelig høst.23Jerusalem, fryd dig over Herren, din Gud, for regnen, han sender, er et tegn på hans godhed. Han sender rigeligt med efterårsregn og forårsregn som før.24Tærskepladsen skal fyldes med korn, persekarret flyde over med druesaft og olivenpressen med olie.25Herren siger: „Jeg vil erstatte det, I mistede i de år, da græshopperne åd jeres afgrøder. Det var mig, der sendte den store hær imod jer.26-27Men nu skal I spise og blive mætte, og I skal takke og lovprise mig for den store nåde, jeg har vist jer. Aldrig igen skal mit folk opleve en lignende katastrofe. I skal få at se, at jeg er midt iblandt mit folk, Israel, og at jeg alene er Herren, jeres Gud.
1Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, (Es 58,1; Hos 5,8; Joel 1,15; Joel 2,15; Joel 3,17; Amos 3,6)2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. (Joel 1,2; Joel 1,6; Joel 2,11; Joel 2,25; Amos 5,18; Amos 5,20; Zef 1,15)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. (1.Mos 2,8; Es 51,3; Joel 1,19; Zak 7,14)4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run. (Åb 9,7)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. (Es 5,24; Es 47,14; Joel 2,2; Ob 1,18; Nah 1,10; Nah 3,2; Åb 9,9)6Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale. (Nah 2,10)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. (Ord 30,27)9They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. (Es 33,4; Jer 9,21; Joh 10,1)10The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. (Salm 18,7; Es 13,10; Ez 32,7; Joel 3,15; Joel 3,16; Amos 8,8; Matt 24,29; Åb 9,2)11The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? (4.Mos 24,23; Joel 1,15; Joel 2,25; Joel 2,31; Joel 3,16; Mal 3,2; 1.Thess 4,16; Åb 18,8)
Return to the Lord
12“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; (5.Mos 4,30; 1.Sam 7,3; 1.Sam 7,6; Jer 4,1; Hos 12,6)13and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. (1.Mos 37,29; 2.Mos 34,6; 4.Mos 23,19; Salm 34,18; Salm 86,5; Salm 86,15; Ez 24,14; Jonas 4,2)14Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God? (Joel 1,9; Joel 1,13; Jonas 3,9; Hag 2,19; Mal 3,10)15Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; (Joel 1,14; Joel 2,1)16gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber. (5.Mos 24,5; Josva 3,5; 2.Krøn 20,13; Præd 3,5; Zak 12,12; 1.Kor 7,5)17Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep and say, “Spare your people, O Lord, and make not your heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations.[1] Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” (1.Kong 6,3; 2.Krøn 3,4; 2.Krøn 4,1; Salm 42,3; Salm 79,10; Salm 115,2; Ez 8,16; Joel 1,9)
The Lord Had Pity
18Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people. (Salm 103,13; Zak 1,14; Zak 8,2)19The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. (Salm 4,7; Joel 1,10; Mal 3,10)20“I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard[2] into the eastern sea, and his rear guard[3] into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things. (Es 34,3; Ez 47,18; Amos 4,10; Zak 14,8)21“Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things! (Salm 126,2)22Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit; the fig tree and vine give their full yield. (Joel 1,18; Joel 1,19; Zak 8,12)23“Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given the early rain for your vindication; he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before. (5.Mos 11,14; Salm 100,1; Jer 5,24; Hos 6,3; Hab 3,18; Zak 10,7)24“The threshing floors shall be full of grain; the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.25I will restore[4] to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. (Joel 1,4; Joel 2,11)26“You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (3.Mos 25,19; Es 49,23)27You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame. (2.Mos 20,2; Es 44,8; Ez 37,26; Hos 11,9; Joel 2,26; Joel 3,17)
The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit
28[5] “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. (Es 32,15; Ez 39,29; Zak 12,10; Joh 7,39; Ap G 2,17; Ap G 2,39; Ap G 21,9)29Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. (1.Kor 12,13)30“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. (Matt 24,30; Luk 21,11)31The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. (Joel 2,10; Mal 4,5; Åb 6,12)32And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls. (Es 46,13; Es 59,20; Jer 31,7; Ob 1,17; Mika 4,7; Zak 8,12; Rom 10,13)