Joel 1

1 A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Joel, son of Pethuel:

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

2 Hear this, ye aged ones, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, Hath this been in your days? Or in the days of your fathers?

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

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

4 What is left of the palmer-worm, eaten hath the locust, And what is left of the locust, Eaten hath the cankerworm, And what is left of the cankerworm, Eaten hath the caterpillar.

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 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it hath been cut off from your 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 a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth [are] the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

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 hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches.

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

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

9 Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah.

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 Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil.

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

11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field.

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

12 The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons 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 Gird, and lament, ye priests, Howl, ye ministrants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, ministrants of my God, For withheld from the house of your God hath been present and libation.

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 Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders — all the inhabitants of the land, [Into] the house of Jehovah your God,

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 And cry unto Jehovah, 'Alas for the day! For near [is] a day of Jehovah, And as destruction from the mighty it cometh.

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

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

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

17 Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn.

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

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

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

19 Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I do call, For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness, And a flame hath set on fire all trees of the field.

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

20 Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!'

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