1 Y ahweh’s word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

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

2 H ear 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?

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 children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.

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

4 W hat 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.

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, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it 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 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.

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 H e has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made 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 M ourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!

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

9 T he meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from Yahweh’s house. The priests, Yahweh’s ministers, mourn.

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 field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.

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

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

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 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.

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 P ut 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.

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 anctify 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.

¶ 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 A las for the day! For the day of Yahweh is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

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

16 I sn’t the food cut off before our eyes; joy and gladness 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 rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.

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 groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

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

19 Y ahweh, 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.

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 Y es, 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.

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.