Joel 1

1 The word of Yahweh, which came unto Joel, son of Pethuel.

The word of the Lord is this, that was maad to Joel, the sone of Phatuel.

2 Hear this, ye elders, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, —hath this ever happened in your days? or in the days of your fathers?

Elde men, here ye this, and alle dwelleris of the lond, perseyue ye with eeris. If this thing was don in youre daies, ether in the daies of youre fadris.

3 Concerning it, to your children, tell ye the story, —and your children, to their children, and their children, to the generation following: —

Of this thing telle ye to your sones, and your sones telle to her sones, and the sones of hem telle to another generacioun.

4 That which was left by the creeping locust, hath the swarming locust eaten, and, that which was left by the swarming locust, hath the grass locust eaten; and, that which was left by the grass locust, hath the corn locust eaten.

A locuste eet the residue of a worte worm, and a bruke eet the residue of a locuste, and rust eet the residue of a bruke.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, —over the new wine, because it hath been cut off from your mouth.

Drunken men, wake ye, and wepe; and yelle ye, alle that drynken wyn in swetnesse; for it perischide fro youre mouth.

6 For, a nation, hath come up over my land, bold, and without number, —his teeth, are the teeth of a lion, and, the fangs of a lioness, hath he!

For whi a folc strong and vnnoumbrable stiede on my lond. The teeth therof ben as the teeth of a lioun, and the cheek teeth therof ben as of a whelp of a lioun.

7 He hath turned my vine to a waste, and my fig-tree to splinters, —he hath, barked it clean, and cast it down, bleached are its branches.

It settide my vyner in to desert, and took awei the riynde of my fige tre. It made nakid and spuylide that vyner, and castide forth; the braunchis therof ben maad white.

8 Wail thou, like a virgin girded with sackcloth, for the owner of her youth.

Weile thou, as a virgyn gird with a sak on the hosebonde of hir tyme of mariage.

9 Cut off are the meal-offering and the drink-offering, from the house of Yahweh, —In grief are the priests, the attendants on Yahweh: —

Sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of the Lord; and preestis, the mynystris of the Lord, moureneden.

10 Laid waste is the field, in grief is the soil, —for laid waste is the corn, abashed is the new wine, languisheth the oil.

The cuntrey is maad bare of puple. The erthe mourenyde; for whete is distried. Wyn is schent, and oile was sijk, ether failide.

11 Turn pale, ye husbandmen, howl, ye vinedressers, over the wheat, and over the barley, —for perished is the harvest of the field.

The erthe tilieris ben schent, the vyn tilieris yelliden on wheete and barli; for the ripe corn of the feeld is perischid.

12 The vine, is abashed, and, the fig-tree, languisheth, —pomegranate, palm also, and apple—all the trees of the field, have withered, Yea abashed is gladness, away from the sons of men.

The vyner is schent; and the fige tre was sijk. The pomgarnate tre, and the palm tre, and the fir tre, and alle trees of the feeld drieden vp; for ioie is schent fro the sones of men.

13 Gird yourselves and beat the breast—ye priests, howl, ye attendants of the altar, go in and wrap yourselves for the night in sackcloth, ye attendants on my God, —for, withholden from the house of your God, are the meal-offering and the drink- offering.

Ye prestis, girde you, and weile; ye mynystris of the auter, yelle. Mynystris of my God, entre ye, ligge ye in sak; for whi sacrifice and moist sacrifice perischide fro the hous of youre God.

14 Hallow ye a fast, Call a solemn assembly, Gather, O elders, all the inhabitants of the land, unto the house of Yahweh your God, —and make ye outcry unto Yahweh.

Halewe ye fastyng, clepe ye cumpeny, gadere ye togidere elde men, and alle dwelleris of the erthe in to the hous of youre God; and crie ye to the Lord, A!

15 Alas for the day! For near is the day of Yahweh, and, as a veritable Destruction from the Destroyer, shall it come.

A! A! to the dai; for the dai of the Lord is niy, and schal come as a tempest fro the myyti.

16 Is it not, before our eyes, that, food, hath been cut off? From the house of our God, rejoicing and exultation.

Whether foodis perischiden not bifore youre iyen; gladnesse and ful out ioie perischide fro the hous of youre God?

17 Rotted hath the seed, under their clods, Laid waste are their stores, Thrown down are the garners, —Yea abashed is the corn.

Beestis wexen rotun in her drit. Bernes ben distried, celeris ben distried, for wheete is schent.

18 How do the beasts groan! Perplexed are the herds of oxen, because there is no pasture for them, —even, the flocks of sheep, are destroyed!

Whi weilide a beeste? whi lowiden the flockis of oxun and kien? for no lesewe is to hem; but also the flockis of scheep perischiden.

19 Unto thee, O Yahweh, will I cry, —for, a fire, hath consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and, a flame, hath set ablaze all the trees of the field.

Lord, Y schal crye to thee, for fier eet the faire thingis of desert, and flawme brente all the trees of the cuntrei.

20 Even the beasts of the field, moan unto thee, —because dried up are the channels of water, and, a fire, hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

But also beestis of the feeld, as a corn floor thirstynge reyn, bihelden to thee; for the wellis of watris ben dried vp, and fier deuouride the faire thingis of desert.