Joel 1

New King James Version

The Locust Plague in Judah

1 The word of the Lord that came to ^(A)Joel the son of Pethuel.

The Land Laid Waste^(B)

²Hear this, you elders,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
^(C)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
³^(D)Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.

⁴^(E)What the chewing ^[a]locust left, the ^(F)swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

⁵Awake, you ^(G)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
^(H)For it has been cut off from your mouth.
⁶For ^(I)a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
^(J)His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a ^[b]fierce lion.
⁷He has ^(K)laid waste My vine,
And ^[c]ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.

⁸^(L)Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For ^(M)the husband of her youth.
⁹^(N)The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
The priests ^(O)mourn, who minister to the Lord.
¹⁰The field is wasted,
^(P)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
^(Q)The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.

¹¹^(R)Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
¹²^(S)The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree—
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely ^(T)joy has withered away from the sons of men.

Mourning for the Land

¹³^(U)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^(V)Consecrate a fast,
Call ^(W)a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And ^(X)all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.

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

¹⁹O Lord, ^(AD)to You I cry out;
For ^(AE)fire has devoured the ^[e]open pastures,
And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
²⁰The beasts of the field also ^(AF)cry out to You,
For ^(AG)the water brooks are dried up,
And fire has devoured the ^[f]open pastures.

Footnotes

Joel 1:4 Exact identity of these locusts unknown
Joel 1:6 Or lioness
Joel 1:7 Or splintered
Joel 1:18 LXX, Vg. are made desolate
Joel 1:19 Lit. pastures of the wilderness
Joel 1:20 Lit. pastures of the wilderness

Philippians 4

New King James Version

Be Anxious for Nothing; Think These Thoughts

4 Therefore, my beloved and ^(A)longed-for brethren, ^(B)my joy and crown, so ^(C)stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

Be United, Joyful, and in Prayer

²I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche ^(D)to be of the same mind in the Lord. ³^[a]And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who ^(E)labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in ^(F)the Book of Life.

⁴^(G)Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your ^[b]gentleness be known to all men. ^(H)The Lord is at hand.

⁶^(I)Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with ^(J)thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷and ^(K)the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Meditate on These Things

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever things are ^(L)true, whatever things are ^(M)noble, whatever things are ^(N)just, ^(O)whatever things are pure, whatever things are ^(P)lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. ⁹The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and ^(Q)the God of peace will be with you.

Philippian Generosity

¹⁰But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last ^(R)your^[c] care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. ¹¹Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, ^(S)to be content: ¹²^(T)I know how to ^[d]be abased, and I know how to ^[e]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³I can do all things ^(U)through ^[f]Christ who strengthens me.

¹⁴Nevertheless you have done well that ^(V)you shared in my distress. ¹⁵Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, ^(W)no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. ¹⁶For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. ¹⁷Not that I seek the gift, but I seek ^(X)the fruit that abounds to your account. ¹⁸Indeed I ^[g]have all and abound. I am full, having received from ^(Y)Epaphroditus the things sent from you, ^(Z)a sweet-smelling aroma, ^(AA)an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. ¹⁹And my God ^(AB)shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. ²⁰^(AC)Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Greeting and Blessing

²¹Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren ^(AD)who are with me greet you. ²²All the saints greet you, but especially those who are of Caesar’s household.

²³The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with ^[h]you all. Amen.