Joel 1

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

²Elde 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.

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

⁴A 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.

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

⁶For 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.

⁷It 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.

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

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

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

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

¹²The 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.

¹³Ye 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.

¹⁴Halewe 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!

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

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

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

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

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

²⁰But 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.

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.