The Locusts Bring Desolation

The word of Yahweh that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of Yahweh. The priests mourn, The ministers of Yahweh.

The Day of Yahweh Is Near

Gird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.

Set apart a fast as holy, Call for a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of Yahweh your God, And cry out to Yahweh.

Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

To You, O Yahweh, I cry; For fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

Blow a trumpet in Zion, And make a loud shout on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of Yahweh is coming; Surely it is near,

But Yahweh gives forth His voice before His military force; Surely His camp is very numerous, For mighty is he who does His word. The day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?

Return to Yahweh

“Yet even now,” declares Yahweh, “Return to Me with all your heart And with fasting, weeping, and wailing;

And tear your heart and not your garments.” Now return to Yahweh your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting concerning evil.

Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For Yahweh your God?

Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Pity Your people, O Yahweh, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

Yahweh Will Spare His People

Then Yahweh will be zealous for His land And will spare His people.

Then Yahweh will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, For Yahweh has done great things.

So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in Yahweh your God, For He has given you the early rain in righteousness. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and late rains as before.

And you will have plenty to consume and be satisfied And praise the name of Yahweh your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never be put to shame.

Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Yahweh your God, And there is no other; And My people will never be put to shame.

Yahweh Will Pour Out His Spirit

“And it will be afterwards That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men will dream dreams; Your young men will see visions.

Deliverance in the Day of Yahweh

And I will put wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of Yahweh comes.

And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, As Yahweh has said, Even among the survivors whom Yahweh calls.

Yahweh Will Judge the Nations

“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,

Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for Yahweh has spoken.

Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves. There, bring down, O Yahweh, Your mighty ones.