Joel 1

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

2Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

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

4That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.footnote a

5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

6For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

7He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.footnote b

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

9The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.

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

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

12The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

13Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

14Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,footnote c

15Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

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

17The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.footnote d

18How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

19O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.footnote e

20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

The Invasion of Locusts

1This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

2Hear this, O elders;and give ear, all who dwell in the land.Has anything like this ever happened in your daysor in the days of your fathers? 3Tell it to your children;let your children tell it to their children,and their children to the next generation. 4What the devouring locust has left,the swarming locust has eaten;what the swarming locust has left,the young locust has eaten;and what the young locust has left,the destroying locust has eaten.footnote a

5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;wail, all you drinkers of wine,because of the sweet wine,for it has been cut off from your mouth. 6For a nation has invaded My land,powerful and without number;its teeth are the teeth of a lion,and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. 7It has laid waste My grapevineand splintered My fig tree.It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away;the branches have turned white.

A Call to Mourning

8Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,grieving for the husband of her youth. 9Grain and drink offerings have been cut offfrom the house of the LORD;the priests are in mourning,those who minister before the LORD. 10The field is ruined;the land mourns.For the grain is destroyed,the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. 11Be dismayed, O farmers,wail, O vinedressers,over the wheat and barley,because the harvest of the field has perished. 12The grapevine is dried up,and the fig tree is withered;the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered.Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

A Call to Repentance

13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;wail, O ministers of the altar.Come, spend the night in sackcloth,O ministers of my God,because the grain and drink offeringsare withheld from the house of your God. 14Consecrate a fast;proclaim a solemn assembly!Gather the eldersand all the residents of the landto the house of the LORD your God,and cry out to the LORD.

15Alas for the day!For the Day of the LORD is near,and it will comeas destruction from the Almighty.footnote b 16Has not the food been cut offbefore our very eyes—joy and gladnessfrom the house of our God? 17The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods;the storehouses are in ruins;the granaries are broken down,for the grain has withered away. 18How the cattle groan!The herds wander in confusionbecause they have no pasture.Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

19To You, O LORD, I call,for fire has consumed the open pasturesand flames have scorched all the trees of the field. 20Even the beasts of the field pant for You,for the streams of water have dried up,and fire has consumed the open pastures.