Joel 1
Legacy Standard Bible
The Locusts Bring Desolation
1 The (A)word of [a]Yahweh that came to (B)Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 (C)Hear this, O (D)elders,
And give ear, all inhabitants of the land.
(E)Has anything like this happened in your days
Or in your fathers’ days?
3 (F)Recount about it to your sons,
And let your sons recount about it to their sons,
And their sons to the next generation.
4 What the (G)gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has consumed;
And what the (H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has consumed;
And what the creeping locust has left, the (I)stripping locust has consumed.
5 Awake, (J)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is (K)cut off from your mouth.
6 For a (L)nation has come up against my land,
Mighty and without number;
(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has (N)made my vine a desolation
And my fig tree [b]splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast them away;
Their branches have become white.
8 (O)Wail like a virgin (P)girded with sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The (Q)grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of Yahweh.
The (R)priests mourn,
The ministers of Yahweh.
10 The field is (S)destroyed;
(T)The land mourns,
For the grain is destroyed,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil [c]fails.
11 [d](U)Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley,
Because the (V)harvest of the field perishes.
12 The (W)vine dries up,
And the fig tree [e]fails;
The (X)pomegranate, the (Y)palm also, and the [f](Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, (AA)rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
The Day of Yahweh Is Near
13 (AB)Gird yourselves with sackcloth
And lament, O priests;
(AC)Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, (AD)spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (AE)Set apart a fast as holy,
Call for a (AF)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of Yahweh your God,
And (AG)cry out to Yahweh.
15 (AH)Alas for the day!
For the (AI)day of Yahweh is near,
And it will come as (AJ)destruction from the [g]Almighty.
16 Has not (AK)food been cut off before our eyes,
Gladness and (AL)joy from the house of our God?
17 The [h](AM)seeds shrivel under their [i]clods;
The storehouses are desolate;
The barns are pulled down,
For the grain is dried up.
18 How (AN)the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle wander aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep [j]suffer.
19 (AO)To You, O Yahweh, I cry;
For (AP)fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field [k](AQ)pant for You;
For the (AR)water brooks are dried up,
And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
Footnotes
- Joel 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Joel 1:7 Or a stump
- Joel 1:10 Lit wastes away
- Joel 1:11 Or The farmers are ashamed, The vinedressers wail
- Joel 1:12 Lit wastes away
- Joel 1:12 Or apricot
- Joel 1:15 Heb Shaddai
- Joel 1:17 Or dried figs
- Joel 1:17 Or shovels
- Joel 1:18 Lit bear punishment
- Joel 1:20 Lit long for
Joel 1
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel:(A)
Lament over the Ruin of the Country
2 Hear this, O elders;
give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?(B)
3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children another generation.(C)
4 What the cutting locust left,
the swarming locust has eaten;
what the swarming locust left,
the hopping locust has eaten;
and what the hopping locust left,
the destroying locust has eaten.(D)
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep,
and wail, all you wine drinkers,
over the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For a nation has invaded my land,
powerful and innumerable;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.(E)
7 It has laid waste my vines
and splintered my fig trees;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches have turned white.(F)
8 Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth
for the husband of her youth.(G)
9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
the ministers of the Lord.(H)
10 The fields are devastated,
the ground mourns,
for the grain is destroyed,
the wine dries up,
the oil fails.(I)
11 Be dismayed, you farmers;
wail, you vinedressers,
over the wheat and the barley,
for the crops of the field are ruined.(J)
12 The vine withers;
the fig tree droops.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple—
all the trees of the field are dried up;
surely, joy withers away
among the people.(K)
A Call to Repentance and Prayer
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests;
wail, you ministers of the altar.
Come, pass the night in sackcloth,
you ministers of my God!
Grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.(L)
14 Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.(M)
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[a] it comes.(N)
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?(O)
17 The seed shrivels under the clods;[b]
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are ruined
because the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle wander about
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep are perishing.(P)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.