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

A Land Laid Waste

Hear this, elders,
    and give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this happened in your days,
    or in the days of your fathers?
Tell it to your children,
    and let your children tell their children,
    and let their children tell another generation.
What the fledging locust left,
    the adult locust has eaten;
what the adult locust left,
    the larval locust has eaten;
what the larval locust left,
    the hopper locust has eaten.

Awaken, drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all wine-drinkers,
because the sweet wine
    has been cut off from your lips.
For a nation powerful and innumerable
    has invaded my land;
its teeth are like the teeth of a lion,
    like the fangs of a lioness.
It has despoiled my vine,
    and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off its bark
    and cast it away,
    leaving its branches white.

Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
    for the husband of her youth.
The grain offering and the drink offering
    are cut off from the house of the Lord;
the priests mourn, who are
    ministers to the Lord.
10 The field is ravaged,
    the ground mourns;
for the grain is ruined,
    the new wine is dried up,
    and the oil dwindles.

11 Despair, fieldworkers;
    wail, vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
    because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine is dried up,
    and the fig tree is withered;
pomegranate, palm, and apple—
    all the trees of the field are dry;
surely joy has withered away
    from the sons of men.

A Call to Repentance

13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
    wail, ministers of the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    ministers of my God,
because the grain offering and the drink offering
    are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast,
    call a sacred assembly,
assemble the elders
    and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out to the Lord.

15 Alas, for the day!
    For the day of the Lord is near,
    and like devastation from the Almighty it comes.

16 Has not the food been cut off
    before our eyes,
joy and gladness
    from the house of our God?
17 The seeds have shriveled
    under their shovels,
the storehouses have been deserted;
    the granaries have been torn down,
    because the grain has dried up.
18 How the beasts groan!
    The herds of cattle are confused,
because they have no pasture;
    even the flocks of sheep suffer.

19 To You, O Lord, I call,
    because fire has devoured the wild pastures,
    and flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field long for You,
    because the streams of water have dried up,
    and fire has devoured the wild pastures.

The word of the Lord that came(A) to Joel(B) son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

Hear this,(C) you elders;(D)
    listen, all who live in the land.(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
    or in the days of your ancestors?(F)
Tell it to your children,(G)
    and let your children tell it to their children,
    and their children to the next generation.(H)
What the locust(I) swarm has left
    the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
    the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left(J)
    other locusts[a] have eaten.(K)

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all you drinkers of wine;(L)
wail because of the new wine,
    for it has been snatched(M) from your lips.
A nation has invaded my land,
    a mighty army without number;(N)
it has the teeth(O) of a lion,
    the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste(P) my vines
    and ruined my fig trees.(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
    and thrown it away,
    leaving their branches white.

Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth(R)
    grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
Grain offerings and drink offerings(S)
    are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,(T)
    those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
    the ground is dried up;(U)
the grain is destroyed,
    the new wine(V) is dried up,
    the olive oil fails.(W)

11 Despair, you farmers,(X)
    wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(Y)
    because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(Z)
12 The vine is dried up
    and the fig tree is withered;(AA)
the pomegranate,(AB) the palm and the apple[b] tree—
    all the trees of the field—are dried up.(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
    is withered away.

A Call to Lamentation

13 Put on sackcloth,(AD) you priests, and mourn;
    wail, you who minister(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(AF)
    are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(AG)
    call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
    and all who live in the land(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out(AI) to the Lord.(AJ)

15 Alas for that(AK) day!
    For the day of the Lord(AL) is near;
    it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c](AM)

16 Has not the food been cut off(AN)
    before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(AO)
    from the house of our God?(AP)
17 The seeds are shriveled
    beneath the clods.[d](AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
    the granaries have been broken down,
    for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
    The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;(AR)
    even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(AS)

19 To you, Lord, I call,(AT)
    for fire(AU) has devoured the pastures(AV) in the wilderness
    and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the wild animals pant for you;(AW)
    the streams of water have dried up(AX)
    and fire has devoured the pastures(AY) in the wilderness.

Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:4 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.
  2. Joel 1:12 Or possibly apricot
  3. Joel 1:15 Hebrew Shaddai
  4. Joel 1:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.