Joel 1
Modern English Version
1 The word of the Lord, which came to Joel, son of Pethuel.
A Land Laid Waste
2 Hear this, elders,
and give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has anything like this happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell their children,
and let their children tell another generation.
4 What the fledging locust left,
the adult locust has eaten;
what the adult locust left,
the larval locust has eaten;
what the larval locust left,
the hopper locust has eaten.
5 Awaken, drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all wine-drinkers,
because the sweet wine
has been cut off from your lips.
6 For a nation powerful and innumerable
has invaded my land;
its teeth are like the teeth of a lion,
like the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has despoiled my vine,
and splintered my fig tree;
it has stripped off its bark
and cast it away,
leaving its branches white.
8 Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth
for the husband of her youth.
9 The grain offering and the drink offering
are cut off from the house of the Lord;
the priests mourn, who are
ministers to the Lord.
10 The field is ravaged,
the ground mourns;
for the grain is ruined,
the new wine is dried up,
and the oil dwindles.
11 Despair, fieldworkers;
wail, vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine is dried up,
and the fig tree is withered;
pomegranate, palm, and apple—
all the trees of the field are dry;
surely joy has withered away
from the sons of men.
A Call to Repentance
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, ministers of the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
ministers of my God,
because the grain offering and the drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Consecrate a fast,
call a sacred assembly,
assemble the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas, for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and like devastation from the Almighty it comes.
16 Has not the food been cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 The seeds have shriveled
under their shovels,
the storehouses have been deserted;
the granaries have been torn down,
because the grain has dried up.
18 How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are confused,
because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
19 To You, O Lord, I call,
because fire has devoured the wild pastures,
and flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field long for You,
because the streams of water have dried up,
and fire has devoured the wild pastures.
Joel 1
American Standard Version
1 The word of Jehovah that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which [a]the palmer-worm hath left hath [b]the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath [c]the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath [d]the caterpillar eaten.
5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and [e]barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it [f]away; the branches thereof are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah’s ministers, mourn. 10 The field is laid waste, the land mourneth; for the grain is destroyed, the new wine is [g]dried up, the oil languisheth. 11 [h]Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished. 12 The vine is [i]withered, 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: for joy is [j]withered away from the sons of men.
13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God. 14 Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the [k]old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from [l]the Almighty shall it come. 16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seeds [m]rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is [n]withered. 18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep [o]are made desolate. 19 O Jehovah, to thee do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the [p]pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20 Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the [q]pastures of the wilderness.
Footnotes
- Joel 1:4 Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.
- Joel 1:4 Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.
- Joel 1:4 Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.
- Joel 1:4 Probably, different kinds of locusts, or locusts in different stages of growth.
- Joel 1:7 Or, broken
- Joel 1:7 Or, down
- Joel 1:10 Or, ashamed
- Joel 1:11 Or, The husbandmen are confounded, the vinedressers wail
- Joel 1:12 Or, ashamed
- Joel 1:12 Or, ashamed
- Joel 1:14 Or, elders
- Joel 1:15 Hebrew Shaddai.
- Joel 1:17 Or, shrivel
- Joel 1:17 Or, ashamed
- Joel 1:18 Or, suffer punishment
- Joel 1:19 Or, folds
- Joel 1:20 Or, folds
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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