Joel 1

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

The Lord’s message that came to Joel, son of Pethuel.

2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Did ever such a thing as this come to pass in your days, or ever in the days of your fathers?

Hear this, elders, pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors?

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

Recount it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the generation that follows.

4 What the caterpillar left hath the locust eaten; and what the locust left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm left hath the cricket eaten.

That which the cutting locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten, that which the swarming locust has left, the hopping locust has eaten, and that which the hopping locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.

5 Wake up, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet new wine, that it is taken away from your mouth.

Awake, drunkards, and weep, and wail, all drinkers of wine; the new wine is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation is come up over my land, strong, and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it hath the cutting-teeth of the lioness.

For a nation has come up on my land, powerful, and numberless; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its jaw-teeth are like those of a lioness.

7 It hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: it hath peeled it clean bare, and cast it down; made white are its light branches.

It has laid waste my vines, and barked my fig tree; it has peeled and cast it away, bleached are the branches.

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

Wail as a bride, clad in sack-cloth, for the husband of her youth.

9 Cut off are the meat-offering and the drink-offering from the house of the Lord: now mourn the priests, the ministers of the Lord.

Cut off are the cereal and drink-offerings from the house of the Lord; in mourning are the priests, who minister at the Lord’s altar.

10 Wasted is the field, the land mourneth; for wasted is the corn: dried up is the new wine, withered is the oil.

The fields are blasted, the land is in mourning, for ruined is the corn, the new wine fails and the oil is dried up.

11 Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen; wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because lost is the harvest of the field.

Be dismayed, farmers; wail, vine-dressers. For the wheat and the barley; for the harvest is lost from the fields.

12 The vine is made ashamed, and the fig-tree is withered; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are dried up; because joy hath ceased from the children of men.

The vine fails to bear fruit, and the fig tree is drooping; the pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up. The people’s joy withers.

13 Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar: come, remain all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for there are withholden from the house of your God the meat-offering and the drink-offering.

Put on sackcloth, and beat your breasts, priests; wail, ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sack-cloth, ministers of God; for cereal-offering and drink-offering are cut off from the house of your God.

14 Sanctify ye a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, into the house of the Lord your God, and cry aloud unto the Lord.

Sanctify a fast, summon an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the Lord your God, cry to the Lord:

15 Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and like destruction from the Almighty will it come.

Alas for the day! Near at hand is the day of the Lord, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

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

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

17 The grains of seed are rotten under their clods, laid desolate are the garners, pulled down are the barns; for the corn is dried up.

The grains shrivel under their hoes, the storehouses are desolate, the barns broken down, for the corn is withered.

18 How do the beasts groan! how do the herds of cattle roam about; because there is no pasture for them: yea, the flocks of sheep are made to perish.

How the herds of cattle bellow in distress, for they have no pasture! The flocks of sheep are forlorn.

19 To thee O Lord, will I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath singed all the trees of the field.

To you, the Lord, I cry. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has scorched all the trees of the field.

20 Also the beasts of the field cry unto thee panting; for the brooks of waters are dried up, and a fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

The wild animals also look up to you longingly, for the water-courses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.