1 T he word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

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

2 H ear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers’ days?

Hear 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?

3 T ell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation.

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

4 W hat the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.

That 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.

5 A wake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth.

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

6 F or a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

For 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.

7 I t has made my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white.

He 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.

8 W ail like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth.

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

9 T he grain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, The ministers of the Lord.

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

10 T he field is ruined, The land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine dries up, Fresh oil fails.

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

11 B e ashamed, O farmers, Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the harvest of the field is destroyed.

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

12 T he vine dries up And the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree, All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, rejoicing dries up From the sons of men.

The 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.

13 G ird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. Starvation and Drought

Gird 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.

14 C onsecrate a fast, Proclaim 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.

Sanctify 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,

15 A las for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

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

16 H as not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God?

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

17 T he seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.

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

18 H ow the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

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

19 T o You, O Lord, I cry; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

O 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.

20 E ven the beasts of the field pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

The 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.