Joel 1
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Did ever such a thing as this come to pass in your days, or ever 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 ye of it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to another generation.
Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation!
4 What the caterpillar left hath the locust eaten; and what the locust left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm left hath the cricket 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, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet new wine, that it is taken away 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 is come up over my land, strong, and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the cutting-teeth of the 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 It hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: it hath peeled it clean bare, and cast it down; made white are its light branches.
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 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the betrothed of her youth.
Lament ye, like a bride, Clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!
9 Cut off are the meat-offering and the drink-offering from the house of the Lord: now mourn the priests, the ministers of the Lord.
The flour-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; The priests, the servants of Jehovah mourn.
10 Wasted is the field, the land mourneth; for wasted is the corn: dried up is the new wine, withered is the oil.
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 ashamed, O ye husbandmen; wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because lost is the harvest of the field.
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 is made ashamed, and the fig-tree is withered; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are dried up; because joy hath ceased from the children 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 Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar: come, remain all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for there are withholden from the house of your God the meat-offering and the drink-offering.
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 ye a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, into the house of the Lord your God, and cry aloud unto 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 like destruction from the Almighty will it come.
Alas, alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is near; Even as destruction from the Almighty doth it come.
16 Is not before our eyes the food cut off, from the house of our God joy and gladness?
Is not our food cut off from before our eyes, Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The grains of seed are rotten under their clods, laid desolate are the garners, pulled down are the barns; for the corn is dried up.
The seeds are rotten under their clods, The storehouses are laid desolate, the garners are destroyed; For the corn is withered.
18 How do the beasts groan! how do the herds of cattle roam about; because there is no pasture for them: yea, the flocks of sheep are made to perish.
How do the beasts groan, How do the herds of oxen wander perplexed, Having no pasture! The flocks of sheep also are destroyed.
19 To thee O Lord, will I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath singed 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 Also the beasts of the field cry unto thee panting; for the brooks of waters are dried up, and a fire hath 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!
