Joel 1

1 A word of YHWH that has been to Joel, son of Pethuel:

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

2 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?

Listen to this, elders, and pay close attention, all inhabitants of the land. Did this ever happen in your days or in the days of your fathers?

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

Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.

4 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.

The locust has eaten what the caterpillar has left, and the beetle has eaten what the locust has left, and the mildew has eaten what the beetle has left.

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

Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth.

6 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.

For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.

7 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.

He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white.

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

Lament like a betrothed virgin, wrapped in sackcloth at the loss of the husband of her youth.

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

Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.

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

The region has been depopulated, the soil has mourned. For the wheat has been devastated, the wine has been disfigured, the oil has languished.

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

The farmers have been confounded, the vineyard workers have wailed over the crop and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

12 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.

The vineyard is in ruin, and the fig tree has languished. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fruit tree, and all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has been thrown into disorder before the sons of men.

13 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.

Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God.

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

Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:

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

“Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.

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

Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

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

The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.

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

Why have the animals groaned, the herds of cattle bellowed? because there is no pasture for them. Yes, and even the flocks of sheep have been lost.

19 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.

To you, O Lord, I will cry out, because fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the countryside.

20 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!”

Yes, and even the beasts of the field have gazed up at you, like the dry ground thirsting for rain, because the fountains of waters have dried up, and fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness.