Historical
The Locusts Bring Desolation
1 The (A)word of [a]Yahweh that came to (B)Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 (C)Hear this, O (D)elders,
And give ear, all inhabitants of the land.
(E)Has anything like this happened in your days
Or in your fathers’ days?
3 (F)Recount about it to your sons,
And let your sons recount about it to their sons,
And their sons to the next generation.
4 What the (G)gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has consumed;
And what the (H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has consumed;
And what the creeping locust has left, the (I)stripping locust has consumed.
5 Awake, (J)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is (K)cut off from your mouth.
6 For a (L)nation has come up against my land,
Mighty and without number;
(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has (N)made my vine a desolation
And my fig tree [b]splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast them away;
Their branches have become white.
8 (O)Wail like a virgin (P)girded with sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The (Q)grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of Yahweh.
The (R)priests mourn,
The ministers of Yahweh.
10 The field is (S)destroyed;
(T)The land mourns,
For the grain is destroyed,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil [c]fails.
11 [d](U)Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley,
Because the (V)harvest of the field perishes.
12 The (W)vine dries up,
And the fig tree [e]fails;
The (X)pomegranate, the (Y)palm also, and the [f](Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, (AA)rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
The Day of Yahweh Is Near
13 (AB)Gird yourselves with sackcloth
And lament, O priests;
(AC)Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, (AD)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.
14 (AE)Set apart a fast as holy,
Call for a (AF)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of Yahweh your God,
And (AG)cry out to Yahweh.
15 (AH)Alas for the day!
For the (AI)day of Yahweh is near,
And it will come as (AJ)destruction from the [g]Almighty.
16 Has not (AK)food been cut off before our eyes,
Gladness and (AL)joy from the house of our God?
17 The [h](AM)seeds shrivel under their [i]clods;
The storehouses are desolate;
The barns are pulled down,
For the grain is dried up.
18 How (AN)the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle wander aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep [j]suffer.
19 (AO)To You, O Yahweh, I cry;
For (AP)fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field [k](AQ)pant for You;
For the (AR)water brooks are dried up,
And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
2 (AS)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And make a loud shout on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the (AT)day of Yahweh is coming;
Surely it is near,
2 A day of (AU)darkness and thick darkness,
A day of clouds and dense gloom.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
So there is a (AV)numerous and mighty people;
There has (AW)never been anything like it,
Nor will there be again after it
For the years from generation to generation.
3 A (AX)fire consumes before them,
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is (AY)like the garden of Eden before them
But a (AZ)desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.
4 Their (BA)appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 [l]With a (BB)noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the [m]crackling of a (BC)flame of fire consumes the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the peoples are (BD)writhing;
All (BE)faces [n]turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men;
They climb up the wall like men of war;
And they each (BF)march [o]in line,
And they do not deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other;
They march everyone in his path;
When they fall against the defending weapons,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city;
They run on the wall;
They climb up into the (BG)houses;
They (BH)enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth (BI)trembles;
The heavens quake;
The (BJ)sun and the moon grow dark,
And the stars [p]lose their brightness.
11 But Yahweh (BK)gives forth His voice before (BL)His military force;
Surely His camp is very numerous,
For (BM)mighty is he who does His word.
The (BN)day of Yahweh is indeed great and very awesome,
And (BO)who can endure it?
Return to Yahweh
12 “Yet even now,” declares Yahweh,
“(BP)Return to Me with all your heart
And with (BQ)fasting, weeping, and [q]wailing;
13 And (BR)tear your heart and not (BS)your garments.”
Now return to Yahweh your God,
For He is (BT)gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness,
And (BU)relenting concerning evil.
14 Who knows (BV)whether He will not turn and relent
And leave a (BW)blessing behind Him,
Even (BX)a grain offering and a drink offering
For Yahweh your God?
15 (BY)Blow a trumpet in Zion,
(BZ)Set apart a fast as holy, call for a solemn assembly,
16 Gather the people, (CA)set apart the congregation as holy,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the infants and the nursing babies.
Let the (CB)bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her bridal chamber.
17 Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh,
Weep (CC)between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “(CD)Pity Your people, O Yahweh,
And do not make Your inheritance a (CE)reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
‘(CF)Where is their God?’”
Yahweh Will Spare His People
18 Then Yahweh [r]will be (CG)zealous for His land
And [s]will (CH)spare His people.
19 Then Yahweh [t]will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to (CI)send you grain, new wine, and oil,
And you will be satisfied in full with [u]them;
And I will (CJ)never again make you a reproach among the nations.
20 But I will remove the (CK)northern military force far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the (CL)eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the (CM)western sea.
And its (CN)stench will rise up, and its foul smell will rise up,
For it has done great things.”
21 (CO)Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For Yahweh has done (CP)great things.
22 Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the (CQ)pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit;
The fig tree and the vine have yielded [v]their full force.
23 So rejoice, O (CR)sons of Zion,
And (CS)be glad in Yahweh your God,
For He has (CT)given you [w]the early rain in righteousness.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The [x]early and [y](CU)late rains [z]as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will (CV)overflow with the new wine and oil.
25 “Then I will pay back to you in full for the years
That the swarming (CW)locust has consumed,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust,
My great military force which I sent among you.
26 And you will have plenty to (CX)consume and be satisfied
And (CY)praise the name of Yahweh your God,
Who has (CZ)dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will (DA)never be put to shame.
27 Thus you will (DB)know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am Yahweh your God,
And there is (DC)no other;
And My people will never be (DD)put to shame.
Yahweh Will Pour Out His Spirit
28 “[aa](DE)And it will be afterwards
That I will (DF)pour out My Spirit on all [ab](DG)mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy;
Your old men will dream dreams;
Your young men will see visions.
29 Even on the (DH)male slaves and female slaves
I will in those days pour out My Spirit.
Deliverance in the Day of Yahweh
30 And I will (DI)put wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The (DJ)sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the (DK)great and awesome day of Yahweh comes.
32 And it will be that (DL)everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh
Will [ac]be delivered;
For (DM)on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who (DN)escape,
As Yahweh has said,
Even among the (DO)survivors whom Yahweh calls.
Yahweh Will Judge the Nations
3 “[ad]For behold, (DP)in those days and at that time,
When I (DQ)restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will (DR)gather all the nations
And bring them down to the (DS)valley of [ae]Jehoshaphat.
Then I will (DT)enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have (DU)scattered among the nations;
And they have (DV)divided up My land.
3 They have also (DW)cast lots for My people,
[af](DX)Traded a boy for a harlot,
And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.
4 Moreover, what are you to Me, O (DY)Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of (DZ)Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will (EA)return your recompense on your head. 5 Since you have (EB)taken My silver and My gold, brought My desirable [ag]treasures to your temples, 6 and sold the (EC)sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the [ah]Greeks in order to remove them far from their borders, 7 behold, I am going to (ED)rouse them from the place where you have sold them and return your recompense on your head. 8 Also I will (EE)sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the (EF)Sabeans, to a distant nation,” for Yahweh has spoken.
9 (EG)Call out this message among the nations:
(EH)Set yourselves apart for a war; (EI)rouse the mighty men!
Let all the men of war approach, let them come up!
10 (EJ)Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
(EK)Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”
11 [ai](EL)Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves.
There, bring down, O Yahweh, Your (EM)mighty ones.
12 Let the nations be roused up
And come up to the (EN)valley of [aj]Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to (EO)judge
All the surrounding nations.
13 (EP)Send in the sickle, for the (EQ)harvest is ripe.
Come, [ak](ER)tread, for the (ES)wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their (ET)evil is great.
14 (EU)Multitudes, multitudes in the (EV)valley of [al]decision!
For the (EW)day of Yahweh is near in the valley of [am]decision.
15 The (EX)sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars lose their brightness.
16 And Yahweh (EY)roars from Zion
And (EZ)gives forth His voice from Jerusalem,
And the (FA)heavens and the earth quake.
But Yahweh is a (FB)refuge for His people
And a (FC)strong defense to the sons of Israel.
17 Then you will (FD)know that I am Yahweh your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My (FE)holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be (FF)holy,
And (FG)strangers will pass through it no more.
Yahweh Dwells in Zion
18 And it will be in that day,
That the (FH)mountains will drip with [an]sweet wine,
And the hills will (FI)flow with milk,
And all the (FJ)brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a (FK)spring will go out from the house of Yahweh
To water the valley of [ao]Shittim.
19 Egypt will become a desolation,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of the (FL)violence [ap]done to the sons of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.
20 But Judah will be (FM)inhabited forever
And Jerusalem from generation to generation.
21 And I will (FN)avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
Indeed, Yahweh dwells in Zion.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.