2 ^aA day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness,
Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
^bA people come, great and strong,
^cThe like of whom has never been;
Nor will there ever be any such after them,
Even for many successive generations. ‡

3 A fire devours before them,
And behind them a flame burns;
The land is like ^athe Garden of Eden before them,
^bAnd behind them a desolate wilderness;
Surely nothing shall escape them. ‡

4 ^aTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like¹ swift steeds, so they run. ‡

5 ^aWith a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array. ‡

6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
^aAll faces¹ are drained of color. ‡

7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break ^aranks. ‡

8 They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own¹ column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not¹ cut down. ‡

9 They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They ^aenter at the windows ^blike a thief. ‡

10 ^aThe earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
^bThe sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness. ‡