Joel 1

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

The Lord’s message that came to Joel, 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?

Hear this, elders, pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors?

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

Recount it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the generation that follows.

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.

That which the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten, that which the swarming locust has left, the hopping locust has eaten, and that which the hopping locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

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

Awake, drunkards, and weep, and wail, all drinkers of wine; the new wine is 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 come up on my land, powerful, and numberless; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its jaw-teeth are like those of a lioness.

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.

It has laid waste my vines, and barked my fig tree; it has peeled and cast it away, bleached are the branches.

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

Wail as a bride, clad in sack-cloth, for 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.

Cut off are the cereal and drink-offerings from the house of the Lord; in mourning are the priests, who minister at the Lord’s altar.

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

The fields are blasted, the land is in mourning, for ruined is the corn, the new wine fails and the oil is dried up.

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

Be dismayed, farmers; wail, vine-dressers. For the wheat and the barley; for the harvest is lost from the fields.

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 vine fails to bear fruit, and the fig tree is drooping; the pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up. The people’s joy withers.

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.

Put on sackcloth, and beat your breasts, priests; wail, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sack-cloth, ministers of God; for cereal-offering and drink-offering are cut off 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, summon an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, cry 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.

Alas for the day! Near at hand is the day of the Lord, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

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

Is not food cut off from before us, gladness and joy 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 grains shrivel under their hoes, the storehouses are desolate, the barns broken down, for the corn is withered.

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.

How the herds of cattle bellow in distress, for they have no pasture! The flocks of sheep are forlorn.

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, the Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has scorched all the trees of the field.

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!”

The wild animals also look up to you longingly, for the water-courses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.