Joel 1

1 The LORD’s word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

2 Hear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?

Hear this, ye old men; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land! Hath such a thing happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers?

3 Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.

Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation!

4 What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.

That which the gnawing-locust left hath the swarming-locust eaten, And that which the swarming-locust left hath the licking-locust eaten, And that which the licking-locust left hath the consuming-locust eaten.

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep! Howl, all ye drinkers of wine, For the new wine, which is snatched from your mouths!

6 For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.

For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and not to be numbered; Their teeth are the teeth of the lion; They have the jaw-teeth of the lioness.

7 He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.

They have made my vine a desolation, And my fig-tree a broken branch; They have made it quite bare and cast it away; The branches thereof are made white.

8 Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!

Lament ye, like a bride, Clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!

9 The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the LORD’s house. The priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.

The flour-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; The priests, the servants of Jehovah mourn.

10 The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.

The field is laid waste; The ground mourneth, For the corn is laid waste; The new wine is dried up; The oil languisheth.

11 Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.

Lament, O ye husbandmen, Howl, O ye vine-dressers, For the wheat and the barley, For the harvest of the field hath perished!

12 The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.

The vine is dried up, And the fig-tree languisheth; The pomegranate, the palm-tree, and the apple-tree, —All the trees of the field, are withered; Yea, joy is withered away from the sons of men.

13 Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.

Gird yourselves with sackcloth and mourn, ye priests! Howl, ye ministers of the altar! Come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, For the flour-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God!

14 Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD.

Appoint ye a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of Jehovah, your God, And cry unto Jehovah!

15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Alas, alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is near; Even as destruction from the Almighty doth it come.

16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Is not our food cut off from before our eyes, Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17 The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.

The seeds are rotten under their clods, The storehouses are laid desolate, the garners are destroyed; For the corn is withered.

18 How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

How do the beasts groan, How do the herds of oxen wander perplexed, Having no pasture! The flocks of sheep also are destroyed.

19 LORD, I cry to you, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

To thee, O Jehovah, do I call, For a fire hath devoured the pastures of the desert, And a flame hath burned all the trees of the field!

20 Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

The beasts of the field, also, cry unto thee, For the streams of water are dried up, And a fire hath devoured the pastures of the desert!