Mourning for the Land

13 (A)Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
Wail, you who minister before the altar;
Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
You who minister to my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (B)Consecrate a fast,
Call (C)a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And (D)all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.

15 (E)Alas for the day!
For (F)the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not the food (G)cut off before our eyes,
(H)Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
18 How (I)the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep [a]suffer punishment.

19 O Lord, (J)to You I cry out;
For (K)fire has devoured the [b]open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 The beasts of the field also (L)cry out to You,
For (M)the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the [c]open pastures.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:18 LXX, Vg. are made desolate
  2. Joel 1:19 Lit. pastures of the wilderness
  3. Joel 1:20 Lit. pastures of the wilderness

13 חִגְר֨וּ וְסִפְד֜וּ הַכֹּהֲנִ֗ים הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ מְשָׁרְתֵ֣י מִזְבֵּ֔חַ בֹּ֚אוּ לִ֣ינוּ בַשַּׂקִּ֔ים מְשָׁרְתֵ֖י אֱלֹהָ֑י כִּ֥י נִמְנַ֛ע מִבֵּ֥ית אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם מִנְחָ֥ה וָנָֽסֶךְ׃

14 קַדְּשׁוּ־צוֹם֙ קִרְא֣וּ עֲצָרָ֔ה אִסְפ֣וּ זְקֵנִ֗ים כֹּ֚ל יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֔רֶץ בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם וְזַעֲק֖וּ אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃

15 אֲהָ֖הּ לַיּ֑וֹם כִּ֤י קָרוֹב֙ י֣וֹם יְהוָ֔ה וּכְשֹׁ֖ד מִשַׁדַּ֥י יָבֽוֹא׃

16 הֲל֛וֹא נֶ֥גֶד עֵינֵ֖ינוּ אֹ֣כֶל נִכְרָ֑ת מִבֵּ֥ית אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ שִׂמְחָ֥ה וָגִֽיל׃

17 עָבְשׁ֣וּ פְרֻד֗וֹת תַּ֚חַת מֶגְרְפֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם נָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙ אֹֽצָר֔וֹת נֶהֶרְס֖וּ מַמְּגֻר֑וֹת כִּ֥י הֹבִ֖ישׁ דָּגָֽן׃

18 מַה־נֶּאֶנְחָ֣ה בְהֵמָ֗ה נָבֹ֙כוּ֙ עֶדְרֵ֣י בָקָ֔ר כִּ֛י אֵ֥ין מִרְעֶ֖ה לָהֶ֑ם גַּם־עֶדְרֵ֥י הַצֹּ֖אן נֶאְשָֽׁמוּ׃

19 אֵלֶ֥יךָ יְהוָ֖ה אֶקְרָ֑א כִּ֣י אֵ֗שׁ אָֽכְלָה֙ נְא֣וֹת מִדְבָּ֔ר וְלֶ֣הָבָ֔ה לִהֲטָ֖ה כָּל־עֲצֵ֥י הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃

20 גַּם־בַּהֲמ֥וֹת שָׂדֶ֖ה תַּעֲר֣וֹג אֵלֶ֑יךָ כִּ֤י יָֽבְשׁוּ֙ אֲפִ֣יקֵי מָ֔יִם וְאֵ֕שׁ אָכְלָ֖ה נְא֥וֹת הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃ פ

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13 (A)Put on sackcloth
And mourn, you priests;
(B)Wail, you ministers of the altar!
Come, (C)spend the night in sackcloth,
You ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Have been withheld from the house of your God.

Starvation and Drought

14 (D)Consecrate a fast,
Proclaim a (E)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of the Lord your God,
And (F)cry out to the Lord.
15 (G)Woe for the day!
For the (H)day of the Lord is near,
And it will come as (I)destruction from the [a]Almighty.
16 Has (J)food not been cut off before our eyes, and
Joy and (K)rejoicing from the house of our God?
17 The [b](L)seeds have dried up under their shovels;
The storehouses have become desolate,
The grain silos are ruined,
Because the grain has dried up.
18 How (M)the animals have groaned!
The herds of cattle have wandered aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep have [c]suffered.
19 (N)To You, Lord, I cry out;
For (O)fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the animals of the field [d](P)pant for You;
For the (Q)stream beds of water are dried up,
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:15 Heb Shaddai
  2. Joel 1:17 Or dried figs
  3. Joel 1:18 Lit suffered punishment
  4. Joel 1:20 Or long for