Joel 1

1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

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

2 Hear this, O elders; and give ear, all who dwell in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers?

Give ear to this, you old men, and take note, you people of the land. Has this ever been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?

3 Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

Give the story of it to your children, and let them give it to their children, and their children to another generation.

4 What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

What the worm did not make a meal of, has been taken by the locust; and what the locust did not take, has been food for the plant-worm; and what the plant-worm did not take, has been food for the field-fly.

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.

Come out of your sleep, you who are overcome with wine, and give yourselves to weeping; give cries of sorrow, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it has been cut off from your mouths.

6 For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

For a nation has come up over my land, strong and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the back teeth of a great lion.

7 It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.

By him my vine is made waste and my fig-tree broken: he has taken all its fruit and sent it down to the earth; its branches are made white.

8 Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth.

Make sounds of grief like a virgin dressed in haircloth for the husband of her early years.

9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD.

The meal offering and the drink offering have been cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord's servants, are sorrowing.

10 The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.

The fields are wasted, the land has become dry; for the grain is wasted, the new wine is kept back, the oil is poor.

11 Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

The farmers are shamed, the workers in the vine-gardens give cries of grief, for the wheat and the barley; for the produce of the fields has come to destruction.

12 The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

The vine has become dry and the fig-tree is feeble; the pomegranate and the palm-tree and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are dry: because joy has gone from the sons of men.

13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Put haircloth round you and give yourselves to sorrow, you priests; give cries of grief, you servants of the altar: come in, and, clothed in haircloth, let the night go past, you servants of my God: for the meal offering and the drink offering have been kept back from the house of your God.

14 Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

Let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting, let the old men, even all the people of the land, come together to the house of the Lord your God, crying out to the Lord.

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

Sorrow for the day! for the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Ruler of all it will come.

16 Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God?

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

17 The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.

The grains have become small and dry under the spade; the store-houses are made waste, the grain-stores are broken down; for the grain is dry and dead.

18 How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

What sounds of pain come from the beasts! the herds of cattle are at a loss because there is no grass for them; even the flocks of sheep are no longer to be seen.

19 To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.

O Lord, my cry goes up to you: for fire has put an end to the grass-lands of the waste, and all the trees of the field are burned with its flame.

20 Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.

The beasts of the field are turning to you with desire: for the water-streams are dry and fire has put an end to the grass-lands of the waste.