Joel 1:13-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Call to Repentance and Prayer
13 Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests;
wail, you ministers of the altar.
Come, pass the night in sackcloth,
you ministers of my God!
Grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.(A)
14 Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.(B)
15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[a] it comes.(C)
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?(D)
17 The seed shrivels under the clods;[b]
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are ruined
because the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle wander about
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep are perishing.(E)
19 To you, O Lord, I cry,
for fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flames have burned
all the trees of the field.(F)
20 Even the wild animals cry to you
because the watercourses are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.(G)
Joel 1:13-20
International Standard Version
A Call to Mourn and Repent
13 “Put on your mourning clothes, you priests;
and cry aloud, you ministering servants at the altar!
Come! Stay the night in mourner’s clothes,[a] you ministers of my God,
because the grain offering and the wine offering is held back from the Temple of your God.
14 Set apart time for a fast!
Call a solemn assembly!
Gather the elders and everyone living in the land to the Temple of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord!”
A Lament about the Day of the Lord
15 Oh, no! For the Day of the Lord approaches,
and like destruction from the Almighty, it will come!
16 Isn’t our food supply cut off right in front of us,[b]
along with joy and gladness from the Temple of our God?
17 Seeds shrivel within their furrows,
the storehouses lie empty,
and granaries stand in ruins
because the grain has withered.
18 Oh, how the livestock groan!
The herds of cattle[c] wander about
because they have no pasture.
Even flocks of sheep suffer!
19 To you, Lord, I cry out,
because fire has devoured the open pastures,
and has set all the cultivated trees[d] ablaze.
20 The livestock also cries out to you,
because their water sources have evaporated
and because fire has consumed the open pastures.
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