Joel 1

1 The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

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

2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

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?

3 Tell your children of it, and [let] your children [tell] their children, and their children another generation:

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

4 that which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.

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.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth.

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.

6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number: his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a lioness.

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.

7 He hath made my vine a desolation, and barked my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away: its branches are made white.

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.

8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

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

9 The oblation and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah's ministers, mourn.

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.

10 The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

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

11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen; howl, ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley: because the harvest of the field hath perished.

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

12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm also and the apple-tree; all the trees of the field are withered, yea, joy is withered away from the children of men.

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.

13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests; howl, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the oblation and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.

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.

14 Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, [and] all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.

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.

15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

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

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

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

17 The seeds are rotten under their clods, the granaries are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

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

18 How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered, for they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep also are in suffering.

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

19 To thee, Jehovah, do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned up all the trees of the field.

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

20 The beasts of the field also cry unto thee; for the water-courses are dried, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

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