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' 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.
Joel 1
English Standard Version
1The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
An Invasion of Locusts
2Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? (Ho 5:1; Joe 1:14; Joe 2:2)3Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation. (Ps 78:4)4What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. (Ex 10:4; Ps 78:46; Ps 105:34; Joe 2:25; Am 4:9; Am 7:1; Na 3:15)5Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. (Isa 24:11; Isa 49:26; Joe 3:18; Am 9:13)6For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. (Joe 2:2; Re 9:7)7It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. (Joe 1:12)8Lament like a virgin[1] wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth. (2Sa 3:31; Joe 1:13)9The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord. (Isa 61:6; Eze 45:4; Joe 1:13; Joe 2:14; Joe 2:17)10The fields are destroyed, the ground mourns, because the grain is destroyed, the wine dries up, the oil languishes. (Ho 2:9; Ho 4:3)11Be ashamed,[2] O tillers of the soil; wail, O vinedressers, for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. (Jer 14:4; Joe 1:17)12The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man. (Isa 24:11; Jer 48:33; Joe 1:7)
A Call to Repentance
13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. (Jer 4:8; Joe 1:8; Joe 1:9; Joe 2:14; Mic 1:8)14Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. (2Ch 20:3; Joe 1:2; Joe 2:15)15Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty[3] it comes. (Isa 13:6; Isa 13:9; Jer 46:10; Eze 30:2; Joe 2:1; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:31; Joe 3:14; Am 5:18; Ob 1:15; Zep 1:14; Zec 14:1; 2Pe 3:10)16Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? (De 12:6; De 16:14)17The seed shrivels under the clods;[4] the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up. (Joe 1:11; Mal 2:3)18How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.[5] (Jer 12:4; Ho 4:3; Joe 2:22)19To you, O Lord, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. (Ps 50:15; Jer 9:10)20Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. (Job 38:41; Ps 104:21; Ps 145:15; Joe 1:19)