Joel 1

1 The word of Yahweh, which came unto Joel, son of Pethuel.

The word of the Lord which came to Joel the son of Bathuel.

2 Hear this, ye elders, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, —hath this ever happened in your days? or in the days of your fathers?

Hear these [words], you elders, and listen all you that inhabit the land. Have such things happen in your days, or in the days of your fathers?

3 Concerning it, to your children, tell ye the story, —and your children, to their children, and their children, to the generation following: —

Tell your children concerning them, and [let] your children [tell] their children, and their children another generation.

4 That which was left by the creeping locust, hath the swarming locust eaten, and, that which was left by the swarming locust, hath the grass locust eaten; and, that which was left by the grass locust, hath the corn locust eaten.

The leavings of the caterpillar has the locust eaten, and the leavings of the locust has the palmerworm eaten, and the leavings of the palmerworm has the cankerworm eaten.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, —over the new wine, because it hath been cut off from your mouth.

Awake, you drunkards, from your wine, and weep: mourn, all you that drink wine to drunkenness: for joy and gladness and removed are from your mouth.

6 For, a nation, hath come up over my land, bold, and without number, —his teeth, are the teeth of a lion, and, the fangs of a lioness, hath he!

For a strong and innumerable nation is come up against my land, their teeth are lion's teeth, and their back teeth those of a [lion's] whelp.

7 He hath turned my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to splinters, —he hath, barked it clean, and cast it down, bleached are its branches.

He has ruined my vine, and utterly broken my fig-trees: he has utterly searched [my vine], and cast it down; he has peeled its branches.

8 Wail thou, like a virgin girded with sackcloth, for the owner of her youth.

Lament to me more than a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

9 Cut off are the meal-offering and the drink-offering, from the house of Yahweh, —In grief are the priests, the attendants on Yahweh: —

The meat-offering and drink-offering are removed from the house of the Lord: mourn, you priests that serve at the altar of the Lord.

10 Laid waste is the field, in grief is the soil, —for laid waste is the corn, abashed is the new wine, languisheth the oil.

For the plains languish: let the land mourn, for the corn languishes; the wine is dried up, the oil becomes scarce;

11 Turn pale, ye husbandmen, howl, ye vinedressers, over the wheat, and over the barley, —for perished is the harvest of the field.

the husbandmen are consumed: mourn your property on account of the wheat and barley; for the harvest has perished from off the field.

12 The vine, is abashed, and, the fig-tree, languisheth, —pomegranate, palm also, and apple—all the trees of the field, have withered, Yea abashed is gladness, away from the sons of men.

The vine is dried up, and the fig-trees are become few; the pomegranate, and palm tree, and apple, and all trees of the field are dried up: for the sons of men have have abolished joy.

13 Gird yourselves and beat the breast—ye priests, howl, ye attendants of the altar, go in and wrap yourselves for the night in sackcloth, ye attendants on my God, —for, withholden from the house of your God, are the meal-offering and the drink- offering.

Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, you priests: mourn, you that serve at the altar: go in, sleep in sackcloths, you that minister to God: for the meat-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Hallow ye a fast, Call a solemn assembly, Gather, O elders, all the inhabitants of the land, unto the house of Yahweh your God, —and make ye outcry unto Yahweh.

Sanctify a fast, proclaim a [solemn] service, gather the elders [and] all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God, and cry earnestly to the Lord,

15 Alas for the day! For near is the day of Yahweh, and, as a veritable Destruction from the Destroyer, shall it come.

Alas, Alas, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as trouble upon trouble.

16 Is it not, before our eyes, that, food, hath been cut off? From the house of our God, rejoicing and exultation.

[Your] meat has been destroyed before your eyes, joy and gladness from out of the house of your God.

17 Rotted hath the seed, under their clods, Laid waste are their stores, Thrown down are the garners, —Yea abashed is the corn.

The heifers have started at their mangers, the treasures are abolished, the wine presses are broken down; for the corn is withered.

18 How do the beasts groan! Perplexed are the herds of oxen, because there is no pasture for them, —even, the flocks of sheep, are destroyed!

What shall we store up for ourselves? the herds of cattle have mourned, because they had no pasture; and the flocks of sheep have been utterly destroyed.

19 Unto thee, O Yahweh, will I cry, —for, a fire, hath consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and, a flame, hath set ablaze all the trees of the field.

To you, O Lord, will I cry: for fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burnt up all the trees of the field.

20 Even the beasts of the field, moan unto thee, —because dried up are the channels of water, and, a fire, hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

And the cattle of the field have looked up to you: for the fountains of waters have been dried up, and fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness.