Joel 1

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

A word of YHWH that has been 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, you aged ones, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land, Has this been in your days? Or in the days of your fathers?

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

Concerning it talk to your sons, And your sons to their sons, And their sons to another generation.

4 That which the palmerworm 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 caterpiller eaten.

What is left of the palmer-worm, the locust has eaten, And what is left of the locust, The cankerworm has eaten, And what is left of the cankerworm, The caterpillar 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.

Awake, you drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it has been cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth [are] the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

For a nation has come up on My land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth [are] the teeth of a lion, And it has the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast [it] away; the branches thereof are made white.

It has made My vine become a desolation, And My fig tree become a splinter, It has made it thoroughly bare, and has cast down, Its branches have been made white.

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

Wail, as a virgin girds with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.

9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.

Present and drink-offering have been cut off from the house of YHWH, The priests have mourned, servants of YHWH.

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

The field is spoiled, The ground has mourned, For the grain is spoiled, New wine has been dried up, oil languishes.

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

Be ashamed, you farmers, Howl, vinedressers, for wheat and for barley, For the harvest of the field has perished.

12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, [even] all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

The vine has been dried up, And the fig tree languishes, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For joy has been dried up from the sons of men.

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

Gird, and lament, you priests, Howl, you servants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, servants of my God, For present and drink-offering have been withheld from the house of your God.

14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders [and] all the inhabitants of the land [into] the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather [the] elderly [and] all those inhabiting the land, [Into the] house of your God YHWH,

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

And cry to YHWH, “Aah! For the day! For [the] Day of YHWH [is] near, And it comes as destruction from [the] Almighty.

16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, [yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Is food not cut off before our eyes? Joy and rejoicing from the house of our God?

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

Scattered things have rotted under their clods, Storehouses have been desolated, Granaries have been broken down, For the grain has withered.

18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

How livestock have sighed! Perplexed have been droves of oxen, For there is no pasture for them, Also droves of sheep have been desolated.

19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

To You, O YHWH, I call, For fire has consumed lovely places of a wilderness, And a flame has set on fire all trees of the field.

20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Also the livestock of the field long for You, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire has consumed lovely places of a wilderness!”