Joel 1
1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
This is the word of Yahweh that came to Joel son of Pethuel.
2 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?
Hear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
3 Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation!
Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.
4 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.
What the swarming locust has left the great locust has eaten; what the great locust has left the grasshopper has eaten; and what the grasshopper has left the caterpillar has eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep! Howl, all ye drinkers of wine, For the new wine, which is snatched from your mouths!
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because the sweet wine has been cut off from you.
6 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.
For a nation has come up upon my land, strong and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the teeth of a lioness.
7 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.
He has made my vineyard into a desolate place and has stripped my fig tree bare. He has stripped its bark and thrown it away; the branches are bare white.
8 Lament ye, like a bride, Clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!
Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the death of her young husband.
9 The flour-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; The priests, the servants of Jehovah mourn.
The grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off from Yahweh's house. The priests, Yahweh's servants, mourn.
10 The field is laid waste; The ground mourneth, For the corn is laid waste; The new wine is dried up; The oil languisheth.
The fields are ruined, the ground is mourning because the grain has been destroyed. The new wine has dried up, the oil fails.
11 Lament, O ye husbandmen, Howl, O ye vine-dressers, For the wheat and the barley, For the harvest of the field hath perished!
Be ashamed, you farmers, and wail, you vine growers, for the wheat and the barley. For the harvest of the fields has perished.
12 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.
The vines have withered and the fig trees have dried up, the pomegranate trees, also the palm trees, and the apple trees— all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has withered away from the descendants of mankind.
13 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!
Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you servants of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you servants of my God. For the grain offering and the drink offering have been withheld from the house of your God.
14 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!
Call for a holy fast, and call a holy assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of Yahweh your God, and cry to Yahweh.
15 Alas, alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is near; Even as destruction from the Almighty doth it come.
Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is almost here. With it will come destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not our food cut off from before our eyes, Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Has not food been cut off from before our eyes, and joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seeds are rotten under their clods, The storehouses are laid desolate, the garners are destroyed; For the corn is withered.
The seeds rot under their clods, the granaries are desolate, and the barns have been broken down, for the grain has withered.
18 How do the beasts groan, How do the herds of oxen wander perplexed, Having no pasture! The flocks of sheep also are destroyed.
How the animals groan! The herds of cattle are suffering because they have no pasture. Also, the flocks of sheep suffer.
19 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!
Yahweh, I cry to you. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have burned all the trees of the fields.
20 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!
Even the animals of the fields pant for you, for the water brooks have dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
