Joel 1

¹The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

²Hear 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?

³Tell ye your children of it, And let your children tell their children, And their children another generation!

⁴That 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.

⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep! Howl, all ye drinkers of wine, For the new wine, which is snatched from your mouths!

⁶For 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.

⁷They 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.

⁸Lament ye, like a bride, Clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!

⁹The flour-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; The priests, the servants of Jehovah mourn.

¹⁰The field is laid waste; The ground mourneth, For the corn is laid waste; The new wine is dried up; The oil languisheth.

¹¹Lament, O ye husbandmen, Howl, O ye vine-dressers, For the wheat and the barley, For the harvest of the field hath perished!

¹²The 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.

¹³Gird 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!

¹⁴Appoint 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!

¹⁵Alas, alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is near; Even as destruction from the Almighty doth it come.

¹⁶Is not our food cut off from before our eyes, Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

¹⁷The seeds are rotten under their clods, The storehouses are laid desolate, the garners are destroyed; For the corn is withered.

¹⁸How do the beasts groan, How do the herds of oxen wander perplexed, Having no pasture! The flocks of sheep also are destroyed.

¹⁹To 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!

²⁰The 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!

Joel 1

¹The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

²Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

³Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

⁴That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

⁶For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

⁷He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

⁸Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

⁹The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, the Lord’s ministers, mourn.

¹⁰The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

¹¹Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

¹²The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

¹³Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

¹⁴Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry unto the Lord,

¹⁵Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

¹⁶Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

¹⁷The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

¹⁸How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

¹⁹O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

²⁰The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.