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

Yahweh’s word that came 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, you elders, And listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has this ever happened in your days, or 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 children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, 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.

What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper 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.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet 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 nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.

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 stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown 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.

Mourn like a virgin dressed in 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 meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from Yahweh’s house. The priests, Yahweh’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 is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.

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 confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers; for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.

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 withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for 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.

Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.

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 land, to the house of Yahweh, your God, and cry to Yahweh.

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 Yahweh is at hand, and it will come as 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?

Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes; joy and 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 seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has 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 animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

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.

Yahweh, I cry to you, 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.

Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.