en_tn/jol/02/01.md

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.