Joel continues poetry that began in the previous chapter. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-parallelism]])

## Blow the trumpet...sound an alarm ##

Joel is emphasizing the importance of calling Israel together in preparation for the destruction that is coming.

## day of darkness and gloom ##

Israel will experience a very bad time. AT: "a day that is full of darkness" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet]])

## day of clouds and thick darkness ##

This second phrase shows how intense this will be. AT: "a day of full darkness" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-doublet]])

## gloom ##

This can mean 1) sadness or 2) total or partial darkness

## Like the dawn that spreads on the mountains, a large and mighty army is approaching ##

AT: "A large, mighty army comes over the mountains into the land. They spread over the land like the light from the rising sun" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])

## a large and mighty army ##

This can mean 1) a swarm of locusts (see UDB), AT: “A huge swarm of locusts” (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]]), or 2) a large human army.