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Joel 1
English Standard Version
Joel 1
English Standard Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
An Invasion of Locusts
2 (A)Hear this, (B)you elders;
give ear, (C)all inhabitants of the land!
(D)Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 (E)Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What (F)the cutting locust left,
(G)the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
(H)the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
(I)the destroying locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and (J)wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of (K)the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For (L)a nation has come up against my land,
(M)powerful and beyond number;
(N)its teeth are lions' teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my (O)fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin[a] (P)wearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 (Q)The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
(R)The priests mourn,
(S)the ministers of the Lord.
10 The fields are destroyed,
(T)the ground mourns,
because (U)the grain is destroyed,
(V)the wine dries up,
the oil languishes.
11 (W)Be ashamed,[b] O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
(X)because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
(Y)the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and (Z)gladness dries up
from the children of man.
A Call to Repentance
13 (AA)Put on sackcloth and lament, (AB)O priests;
(AC)wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, (AD)pass the night in sackcloth,
(AE)O ministers of my God!
(AF)Because grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (AG)Consecrate a fast;
(AH)call a solemn assembly.
Gather (AI)the elders
and (AJ)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!
(AK)For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[c] it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
(AL)joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 (AM)The seed shrivels under the clods;[d]
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because (AN)the grain has dried up.
18 How (AO)the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.[e]
Joel 1
Expanded Bible
Joel 1
Expanded Bible
Locusts Destroy the Crops
1 ·The Lord spoke his word [L The word/message of the Lord that was (given)] to Joel son of Pethuel:
2 Elders, listen to this message.
·Listen to [Hear] me, all you who live in the land.
·Nothing like this has [L Has anything like this…?] ever happened ·during your lifetime [L in your days]
or during your ·ancestors’ [fathers’] ·lifetimes [L days].
3 Tell your children about these things,
let your children tell their children,
and let ·your grandchildren [L their children] tell ·their children [the next generation].
4 What the ·cutting [chewing; or swarming] locusts have left,
the ·swarming [or great] locusts have eaten;
what the ·swarming [or great] locusts have left,
the ·hopping [or crawling; or young] locusts have eaten,
and what the ·hopping [or crawling; or young] locusts have left,
the ·destroying [consuming] locusts have eaten [C these Hebrew terms could mean different species, different stages of development, or different destructive actions; they symbolize God’s judgment against Israel through foreign invaders].
5 Drunks, wake up and ·cry [weep]!
All you ·people who drink wine [wine-drinkers], ·cry [wail]!
Cry because your ·wine [sweet/new wine]
has been ·taken away [snatched; L cut off] from your mouths.
6 A ·powerful [mighty] nation has ·come into [invaded; come up against] my land
·with too many soldiers to count [L without number].
It has teeth like a lion,
·jaws [fangs] like a ·female lion [lioness].
7 It has made my grapevine a waste
and made my fig tree ·a stump [or splintered].
It has ·stripped all [L stripped and thrown away] the bark off my trees
and left the branches white.
8 ·Cry [Lament; Wail] as a young woman ·cries [L clothed in sackcloth]
·when the man she was going to marry has died [L for the husband/or betrothed of her youth].
9 ·There will be no more grain or drink offerings
to offer in [L The grain/gift/tribute (Lev. 2:1) and drink offerings are cut off from] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord.
Because of this, the priests,
the servants of the Lord, are ·sad [in mourning].
10 The fields are ·ruined [destroyed];
the ground ·is dried up [or mourns].
·The [L …because the] grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up,
and the olive oil ·runs out [fails].
11 Be ·sad [in despair; or ashamed; embarrassed], farmers.
·Cry loudly [Wail], you who grow grapes.
Cry for the wheat and the barley.
Cry because the harvest of the field is ·lost [ruined; destroyed].
12 The vines have ·become dry [dried up],
and the fig trees ·are dried up [have withered/languish].
The pomegranate trees, the date palm trees, the apple trees—
all the trees in the field ·have died [are dried up].
And the ·happiness [joy; gladness] of the ·people [L sons/children of man/humanity] has died, too.
13 Priests, put on your ·rough cloth [sackcloth] and ·cry to show your sadness [mourn; lament].
·Servants [Ministers] of the altar, ·cry out loud [wail].
Servants of my God,
·keep your rough cloth on all night to show your sadness [spend the night in sackcloth].
Cry because there will be no more grain [L gift; tribute; Lev. 2:1] or drink offerings
to offer in the ·Temple [L house] of your God.
14 ·Call for [Declare; Appoint; Consecrate] a ·day when everyone fasts [fast]!
·Tell everyone to stop work [L Call a sacred assembly]!
·Bring [Assemble] the elders
and everyone who lives in the land
to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 ·What a terrible day it will be [L Ah, for the day]!
The ·Lord’s day of judging [L day of the Lord] is near [2:1, 11, 31; Is. 13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10],
when ·punishment [destruction] will come
like a destroying attack from the Almighty [C “destroying” (shod) and “Almighty” (shaddai) are related words in Hebrew].
16 Our food is ·taken away [L cut off]
·while we watch [L in front of our eyes].
Joy and ·happiness [gladness] are gone
from the ·Temple [L house] of our God.
17 ·Though we planted fig seeds,
they lie dry and dead in the dirt [L The seed shrivels under the clods/or shovels].
The ·barns [storehouses] are ·empty and falling down [desolate].
The ·storerooms for grain [granaries] have been broken down,
because the grain has dried up.
18 The animals are groaning!
The herds of cattle ·wander around confused [mill about; are restless/distraught],
because they have no ·grass to eat [pasture];
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
19 Lord, I am calling to you for help,
because fire has ·burned up [devoured] the ·open [or wilderness] pastures,
and flames have burned all the trees in the field.
20 Wild animals ·also [even] ·need your help [cry out to you; long/pant for you].
The ·streams of water [water brooks; riverbeds] have dried up,
and fire has ·burned up [devoured] the ·open [or wilderness] pastures.
Joel 1
New International Version
Joel 1
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Joel(B) son of Pethuel.
An Invasion of Locusts
2 Hear this,(C) you elders;(D)
listen, all who live in the land.(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?(F)
3 Tell it to your children,(G)
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.(H)
4 What the locust(I) swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left(J)
other locusts[a] have eaten.(K)
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;(L)
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched(M) from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
a mighty army without number;(N)
it has the teeth(O) of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste(P) my vines
and ruined my fig trees.(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth(R)
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings(S)
are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,(T)
those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;(U)
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine(V) is dried up,
the olive oil fails.(W)
11 Despair, you farmers,(X)
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(Y)
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(Z)
12 The vine is dried up
and the fig tree is withered;(AA)
the pomegranate,(AB) the palm and the apple[b] tree—
all the trees of the field—are dried up.(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
is withered away.
A Call to Lamentation
13 Put on sackcloth,(AD) you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(AF)
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(AG)
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out(AI) to the Lord.(AJ)
15 Alas for that(AK) day!
For the day of the Lord(AL) is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c](AM)
16 Has not the food been cut off(AN)
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(AO)
from the house of our God?(AP)
17 The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods.[d](AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;(AR)
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(AS)
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.