Joel 1-3

Christian Standard Bible

⁵ Wake up, you drunkards,^(H) and weep;
wail, all you wine drinkers,
because of the sweet wine,
for it has been taken from your mouth.
⁶ For a nation has invaded my land,^(I)
powerful and without number;
its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.^(J)
7 It has devastated my grapevine
and splintered my fig tree.
It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away;
its branches have turned white.
⁸ Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth,^(K)
mourning for the husband of her youth.
⁹ Grain and drink offerings have been cut off^(L)
from the house of the Lord;
the priests, who are ministers of the Lord, mourn.^(M)
10 The fields are destroyed;^(N)
the land grieves;
indeed, the grain is destroyed;
the new wine is dried up;^(O)
and the fresh oil fails.^(P)
11 Be ashamed, you farmers,^(Q)
wail, you vinedressers,^[a]
over the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field has perished.^(R)
12 The grapevine is dried up,^(S)
and the fig tree is withered;
the pomegranate,^(T) the date palm,^(U) and the apple^(V)—
all the trees of the orchard—have withered.
Indeed, human joy has dried up.^(W)

¹³ Dress in sackcloth and lament,^(X) you priests;^(Y)
wail,^(Z) you ministers of the altar.
Come and spend the night in sackcloth,^(AA)
you ministers of my God,
because grain and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
¹⁴ Announce a sacred fast;^(AB)
proclaim a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders^(AC)
and all the residents of the land
at the house of the Lord your God,^(AD)
and cry out to the Lord.^(AE)

2 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;^(AP)
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming;^(AQ)
in fact, it is near—
² a day of darkness and gloom,^(AR)
a day of clouds and total darkness,^(AS)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people^(AT) appears,
such as never existed in ages past^(AU)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.^(AV)

³ A fire devours in front of them,^(AW)
and behind them a flame blazes.
The land in front of them
is like the garden of Eden,^(AX)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;^(AY)
there is no escape from them.
⁴ Their appearance is like that of horses,^(AZ)
and they gallop like war horses.
⁵ They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,^(BA)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,^(BB)
like a mighty army deployed for war.

⁶ Nations writhe in horror before them;^(BC)
all faces turn pale.
⁷ They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,^(BD)
and they do not change their course.
⁸ They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
⁹ They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;^(BE)
they enter through the windows like thieves.^(BF)

¹⁰ The earth quakes before them;^(BG)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,^(BH)
and the stars cease their shining.^(BI)
11 The Lord makes his voice heard^(BJ)
in the presence of his army.^(BK)
His camp is very large;
those who carry out his command are powerful.^(BL)
Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful^(BM)—
who can endure it?^(BN)

¹⁵ Blow the ram’s horn in Zion!^(BW)
Announce a sacred fast;^(BX)
proclaim a solemn assembly.
¹⁶ Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;^(BY)
assemble the aged;^[d](BZ)
gather the infants,
even babies nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,^(CA)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
¹⁷ Let the priests,^(CB) the Lord’s ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.^(CC)
Let them say,
“Have pity on your people, Lord,^(CD)
and do not make your inheritance a disgrace,^(CE)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’” ^(CF)

²⁰ I will drive the northerner far from you^(CK)
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea,^(CL)
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.^(CM)
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise,^(CN)
for he has done astonishing things.

²¹ Don’t be afraid, land;^(CO)
rejoice and be glad,
for the Lord has done astonishing things.^(CP)
22 Don’t be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green,^(CQ)
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
²³ Children of Zion,^(CR) rejoice and be glad
in the Lord your God,^(CS)
because he gives you the autumn rain^[e]
for your vindication.^[f](CT)
He sends showers for you,
both autumn and spring rain^(CU) as before.
²⁴ The threshing floors will be full of grain,^(CV)
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and fresh oil.

²⁵ I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,^(CW)
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
my great army that I sent against you.
²⁶ You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.^(CX)
You will praise the name of the Lord your God,^(CY)
who has dealt wondrously with you.^(CZ)
My people will never again be put to shame.^(DA)
27 You will know that I am present in Israel^(DB)
and that I am the Lord your God,
and there is no other.^(DC)
My people will never again be put to shame.^(DD)

¹² Let the nations be roused
and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit down
to judge all the surrounding nations.^(EJ)
13 Swing the sickle
because the harvest is ripe.^(EK)
Come and trample the grapes
because the winepress is full;^(EL)
the wine vats overflow
because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.^(EM)

¹⁴ Multitudes, multitudes^(EN)
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the Lord is near^(EO)
in the valley of decision.
¹⁵ The sun and moon will grow dark,
and the stars will cease their shining.^(EP)
16 The Lord will roar from Zion^(EQ)
and make his voice heard from Jerusalem;^(ER)
heaven and earth will shake.^(ES)
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,^(ET)
a stronghold for the Israelites.^(EU)