1 T his is the word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. The Land Is Destroyed

¶ The word of the LORD that went to Joel the son of Pethuel.

2 H ear this, you old men. Listen, all who live in 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 earth. Has 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 tell the next sons-to-come.

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

4 W hat the chewing locust has left, the flying locust has eaten. What the flying locust has left, the jumping locust has eaten. And what the jumping locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

That which the palmerworm has left the locust has eaten; and that which the locust has left the cankerworm has eaten; and that which the cankerworm has left the caterpillar has eaten.

5 W ake up and cry, you who drink too much. Cry in a loud voice, all you who drink wine, for the sweet wine has been taken from your lips.

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 A nation has come to fight against my land. Its army is powerful, with too many to number. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion. It has the long, sharp teeth of a female lion.

For a people has come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the molars of a great lion.

7 I t has made my vine a waste, and has broken my fig tree to pieces. It has torn off their covering and thrown it away. Their branches have become white.

He has laid my vine waste and barked my fig tree: he has made it clean bare and cast it away; its branches are made white.

8 C ry in sorrow like a young, pure woman dressed in cloth made from hair because the man she was going to marry is dead.

¶ Lament like a young woman girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

9 T he grain gifts and drink gifts have been cut off from the house of the Lord. The religious leaders who served the Lord are full of sorrow.

The grain offering and the drink offering of the house of the LORD has perished; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.

10 T he fields are laid waste and the land is full of sorrow. The grain is destroyed, the new wine dries up, and the oil wastes away.

The field was destroyed, the land mourns; for the wheat was destroyed; the new wine was dried up, the oil perished.

11 B e troubled, you farmers! Cry in a loud voice, you who take care of the vines! Cry for the wheat and the barley, because what was gathered from 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 lost.

12 T he vine dries up and the fig tree wastes away. The pomegranate, the palm, the apple tree, and all the trees of the field dry up. And the people’s joy dries up.

The vine has dried up, and the fig tree has perished; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, have withered: therefore joy has withered away from the sons of men.

13 D ress in cloth made from hair, and cry in sorrow, you religious leaders! Cry in a loud voice, you who serve at the altar! Come, spend the night in cloth made from hair, you who serve my God. For the grain gifts and drink gifts are kept from the house of your God.

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 present and the drink offering is taken away from the house of your God.

14 S et apart a time when no food will be eaten. Call together a holy meeting. Gather the leaders and all the people of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

¶ Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the earth into the house of the LORD your God and cry unto the LORD.

15 W hat a bad day it will be! The day of the Lord is near, when the All-powerful God will come to destroy.

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

16 D o you see how our food has been taken from us? Has not happiness and joy been cut off from the house of our God?

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

17 T he seeds dry up under the ground. The store-houses are laid waste. The buildings where the grain was kept are torn down, for the grain is destroyed.

The seed has rotted under their clods, the storehouses were laid desolate, the barns were destroyed for the wheat is withered.

18 H ow the animals cry inside themselves! The cattle go from place to place because there is no food for them. Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep are condemned.

19 I cry to You, O Lord. For fire has destroyed the fields of the desert. All the trees of the field have burned up.

O LORD, to thee will I cry for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.

20 E ven the animals of the field cry to You. For the rivers are dried up, and fire has burned up the fields of the desert.

The beasts of the field also cry unto thee for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire has devoured the meadows of the wilderness.