A Call to Lamentation

13 Put on sackcloth,(A) you priests, and mourn;
    wail, you who minister(B) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
    you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(C)
    are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(D)
    call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
    and all who live in the land(E)
to the house of the Lord your God,
    and cry out(F) to the Lord.(G)

15 Alas for that(H) day!
    For the day of the Lord(I) is near;
    it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[a](J)

16 Has not the food been cut off(K)
    before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(L)
    from the house of our God?(M)
17 The seeds are shriveled
    beneath the clods.[b](N)
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;(O)
    even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(P)

19 To you, Lord, I call,(Q)
    for fire(R) has devoured the pastures(S) in the wilderness
    and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the wild animals pant for you;(T)
    the streams of water have dried up(U)
    and fire has devoured the pastures(V) in the wilderness.

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 1:15 Hebrew Shaddai
  2. Joel 1:17 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

13 Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests!
    Wail, you ministers of the altar.
Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God,[a]
    for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.
14 Sanctify a fast.
    Call a solemn assembly.
    Gather the elders,
    and all the inhabitants of the land, to the house of Yahweh, your God,
    and cry to Yahweh.
15 Alas for the day!
    For the day of Yahweh is at hand,
    and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes,
    joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seeds rot under their clods.
    The granaries are laid desolate.
    The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18 How the animals groan!
    The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture.
    Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19 Yahweh, I cry to you,
    For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness,
    and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20 Yes, the animals of the field pant to you,
    for the water brooks have dried up,
    And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:13 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).