Joel 1:13-20

Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹³Dress in sackcloth and lament,^(A) you priests;^(B)
wail,^(C) you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,^(D)
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
¹⁴Announce a sacred fast;^(E)
proclaim an assembly!
Gather the elders^(F)
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the Lord your God,^(G)
and cry out to the Lord.^(H)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁵Woe because of that day!^(I)
For the Day of the Lord is near
and will come as devastation from the Almighty.^(J)
¹⁶Hasn’t the food been cut off
before our eyes,^(K)
joy and gladness^(L)
from the house of our God?
¹⁷The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.^[a]^(M)
The storehouses are in ruin,
and the granaries are broken down,
because the grain has withered away.
¹⁸How the animals groan!^(N)
The herds of cattle wander in confusion
since they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.
¹⁹I call to You, Lord,^(O)
for fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness,^(P)
and flames have devoured
all the trees of the countryside.
²⁰Even the wild animals cry out to^[b] You,^(Q)
for the river beds are dried up,^(R)
and fire has consumed
the pastures of the wilderness.