Joel 1

1 The word of the Lord is this, that was maad to Joel, the sone of Phatuel.

This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

2 Elde men, here ye this, and alle dwelleris of the lond, perseyue ye with eeris. If this thing was don in youre daies, ether in the daies of youre fadris.

Hear this, O elders; and give ear, all who dwell in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers?

3 Of this thing telle ye to your sones, and your sones telle to her sones, and the sones of hem telle to another generacioun.

Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.

4 A locuste eet the residue of a worte worm, and a bruke eet the residue of a locuste, and rust eet the residue of a bruke.

What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

5 Drunken men, wake ye, and wepe; and yelle ye, alle that drynken wyn in swetnesse; for it perischide fro youre mouth.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth.

6 For whi a folc strong and vnnoumbrable stiede on my lond. The teeth therof ben as the teeth of a lioun, and the cheek teeth therof ben as of a whelp of a lioun.

For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

7 It settide my vyner in to desert, and took awei the riynde of my fige tre. It made nakid and spuylide that vyner, and castide forth; the braunchis therof ben maad white.

It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.

8 Weile thou, as a virgyn gird with a sak on the hosebonde of hir tyme of mariage.

Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth.

9 Sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of the Lord; and preestis, the mynystris of the Lord, moureneden.

Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD.

10 The cuntrey is maad bare of puple. The erthe mourenyde; for whete is distried. Wyn is schent, and oile was sijk, ether failide.

The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails.

11 The erthe tilieris ben schent, the vyn tilieris yelliden on wheete and barli; for the ripe corn of the feeld is perischid.

Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

12 The vyner is schent; and the fige tre was sijk. The pomgarnate tre, and the palm tre, and the fir tre, and alle trees of the feeld drieden vp; for ioie is schent fro the sones of men.

The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

13 Ye prestis, girde you, and weile; ye mynystris of the auter, yelle. Mynystris of my God, entre ye, ligge ye in sak; for whi sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of youre God.

Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

14 Halewe ye fastyng, clepe ye cumpeny, gadere ye togidere elde men, and alle dwelleris of the erthe in to the hous of youre God; and crie ye to the Lord, A!

Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

15 A! A! to the dai; for the dai of the Lord is niy, and schal come as a tempest fro the myyti.

Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

16 Whether foodis perischiden not bifore youre iyen; gladnesse and ful out ioie perischide fro the hous of youre God?

Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17 Beestis wexen rotun in her drit. Bernes ben distried, celeris ben distried, for wheete is schent.

The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.

18 Whi weilide a beeste? whi lowiden the flockis of oxun and kien? for no lesewe is to hem; but also the flockis of scheep perischiden.

How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

19 Lord, Y schal crye to thee, for fier eet the faire thingis of desert, and flawme brente all the trees of the cuntrei.

To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.

20 But also beestis of the feeld, as a corn floor thirstynge reyn, bihelden to thee; for the wellis of watris ben dried vp, and fier deuouride the faire thingis of desert.

Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.