The Devastation by Locusts

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

The grain offering and the drink offering have been cut off From the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, The ministers of the Lord.

Starvation and Drought

Consecrate a fast, Proclaim 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.

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

To You, Lord, I cry out; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.

The Terrible Visitation

Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the Lord is coming; Indeed, it is near,

The Lord utters His voice before His army; His camp is indeed very great, For mighty is one who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning;

And tear your heart and not merely your garments.” Now return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in mercy And relenting of catastrophe.

Who knows, He might turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him, Resulting in a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God.

Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, “Spare Your people, Lord, And do not make Your inheritance a disgrace, With the nations jeering at them. Why should those among the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

Deliverance Promised

Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And will have compassion for His people.

The Lord 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 disgrace among the nations.

Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice, For the Lord has done great things.

So shout for joy, you sons of Zion, And rejoice in the Lord your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has brought down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before.

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

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

The Day of the Lord

I will display 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 the Lord comes.

And it will come about that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Will be saved; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, Just as the Lord has said, Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

I will also 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 the Lord has spoken.

Hurry and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, Lord, Your warriors.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge for His people, And a stronghold for the sons of Israel.

Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, Dwelling on Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will no longer pass through it.