Old/New Testament
1 The word of the Lord is this, that was made to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2 Eld men, hear ye this, and all dwellers of the land, perceive ye with ears. If this thing was done in your days, either in the days of your fathers. (Old men, hear ye this, and all the inhabitants of the land, listen! Was such a thing as this ever done in your days, or in the days of your forefathers?)
3 Of this thing tell ye to your sons, and your sons tell to their sons, and the sons of them tell to another generation. (Tell ye this thing to your children, and your children tell their children, and their children tell to another generation.)
4 A locust ate the residue of a wortworm, and a bruchus ate the residue of a locust, and rust ate the residue of a bruchus.
5 Drunken men, wake ye, and weep; and yell ye, all that drink wine in sweetness; for it perished from your mouth. (Drunken people, wake ye up, and weep; and yell ye, all who drink wine for its sweetness; for it hath perished from your mouth.)
6 For why a folk strong and unnumberable ascended on my land. The teeth thereof be as the teeth of a lion, and the cheek teeth thereof be as of a whelp of a lion. (For a people, strong and innumerable, came upon my land. Their teeth be like the teeth of a lion; and their molars be like that of a lion’s cub.)
7 It setted my vinery into desert, and took away the rind of my fig tree. It made naked and spoiled that vinery, and casted forth; the branches thereof be made white. (They destroyed my vines, and took the rind off my fig trees. They made bare and spoiled that vineyard, and cast it down; its branches were made white.)
8 Wail thou, as a virgin girded with a sackcloth on the husband of her time of marriage. (Wail thou, like a virgin clothed with a sackcloth for her husband, at the time of her marriage.)
9 Sacrifice and moist sacrifice perished from the house of the Lord; and priests, the ministers of the Lord, mourned. (There is no grain or wine to offer in the House of the Lord; and the priests, the ministers of the Lord, mourned.)
10 The country is made bare of people. The earth mourned; for wheat is destroyed. Wine is shamed, and oil was sick, either failed. (The land is made bare of people. The earth mourned, for the corn, or the grain, is destroyed. The wine is dried up, and the oil languished, or failed.)
11 The earth-tillers be shamed, the vine-tillers yelled on wheat and barley; for the ripe corn of the field is perished. (The earth-tillers despaired, the vine-tillers mourned for the wheat and the barley; for the harvest of the field hath perished.)
12 The vinery is shamed; and the fig tree was sick. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fir tree, and all the trees of the field dried up; for joy is shamed from the sons of men. (The vines be dried up, and the fig trees languished, or failed. The pomegranate tree, the palm tree, the fir tree, and all the trees of the field have dried up; and joy is gone away from among the people.)
13 Ye priests, gird you(rselves), and wail; ye ministers of the altar, yell. Ministers of my God, enter ye, lie ye in sackcloth; for why sacrifice and moist sacrifice perished from the house of your God (for there is no grain or wine to offer in the House of your God).
14 Hallow ye fasting, call ye the company, gather ye together eld men, and all dwellers of the earth, into the house of your God; and cry ye to the Lord, (Call ye for a fast, call ye the congregation, gather ye together the old men, that is, the elders, and all the people of the land, into the House of your God; and cry ye to the Lord,)
15 A! A! A! to the day; for the day of the Lord is nigh, and shall come as a tempest from the (Al)mighty. (O! O! O! what a day! for the day of the Lord is near, and it shall come like a tempest from the Almighty.)
16 Whether foods perished not before your eyes; gladness and full out joy perished from the house of your God? (All the food hath perished before our eyes; and happiness and rejoicing have departed from the House of our God.)
17 Beasts waxed rotten in their drit. Barns be destroyed, cellars be destroyed, for wheat is shamed. (The seed grew rotten in the dirt, or the dry earth. The barns be empty, and the cellars be bare, for the corn, or the grain, is parched, or dried up.)
18 Why wailed a beast? why lowed the flocks of oxen and kine? for no pasture is to them; but also the flocks of sheep perished. (Why do the beasts wail? why do the herds of oxen and cattle bellow? because there is no pasture for them; and the flocks of sheep have also perished.)
19 Lord, I shall cry to thee, for fire ate the fair things of desert, and flame burnt all the trees of the country. (Lord, I shall cry to thee, for fire ate up the beautiful things of the desert/for fire ate up the pastures of the wilderness, and flames burned down all the trees of the countryside.)
20 But also beasts of the field, as a cornfloor thirsting rain, beheld [up] to thee; for the wells of waters be dried up, and fire devoured the fair things of desert. (And the beasts of the field, like a threshing floor thirsting for rain, looked up to thee; for the water wells be dried up, and fire devoured the beautiful things of the desert/and fire devoured the pastures of the wilderness.)
2 Sing ye with a trump in Zion, yell ye in mine holy hill. All the dwellers of earth be disturbed; for the day of the Lord cometh, (Sing ye with a trumpet in Zion, yell ye upon my holy hill. All the people of the land be troubled; for the day of the Lord cometh,)
2 for the day of darknesses and of mist is nigh, the day of cloud and of whirlwind. (These locusts be) As the morrowtide spread abroad on hills, (like) a much people and strong. None was like it from the beginning, and after it shall not be, till into years of generation and of generation. (for the day of darkness and of mist is near, the day of cloud and of whirlwind. These locusts be like the morning spread abroad upon the hills, like a strong, innumerable host, or army. Nothing was ever like them before, and after them, nothing shall ever be like them again.)
3 Before the face thereof shall be fire devouring, and after it shall be burning flame; as a garden of liking the land shall be before them, and wilderness of desert (it) shall be after them, and none is that shall escape them. (At the front, they be like a devouring fire, and at the back, they be like a burning flame; before they come, the land shall be like a Garden of Eden, but after they leave, it shall be a wilderness of the desert, and there is nothing that shall escape them.)
4 The looking of them shall be as the looking of horses; and as horsemen, so they shall run.
5 As the sound of carts on the heads of hills they shall skip; as the sound of the flame of fire devouring stubble, as a strong people made ready to battle. (They shall skip over the hill-tops, sounding like the rattle of carts, and like the flames of fire devouring stubble; they shall come like a strong, innumerable host, or army, prepared to do battle.)
6 Peoples shall be tormented of the face thereof, all faces shall be (as) driven into a pot. (The peoples shall be tormented before them, yea, all their faces shall turn pale with fear.)
7 As strong men they shall run, as men warriors they shall ascend on the wall. (These) Men shall go in their ways, and they shall not bow away from their paths. (They shall run like strong men, and like fighting men they shall go up on the walls. They shall go straight in their ways, and they shall not turn away from their paths.)
8 Each man shall not make strait his brother, each man shall go in his path; but also they shall fall down by windows, and shall not be hurt. (No one shall divert his neighbour, each one shall go on his own path; and they shall go in through the windows, and not be hurt.)
9 They shall enter into the city, they shall run on the wall; they shall ascend on houses, they shall enter as a night thief by windows. (They shall enter into the city, they shall run upon the walls; they shall go up on the houses, and they shall go in through the windows like a night thief.)
10 The earth trembled of his face, heavens were moved, the sun and the moon were made dark, and stars withdrew their shining. (The earth trembled before them, the heavens were moved, the sun and the moon were made dark, and the stars withdrew their shining.)
11 And the Lord gave his voice before the face of his host, for his hosts be full many; for those be strong, and do the word of him. For the day of the Lord is great, and full fearedful, and who shall suffer it?
12 Now therefore saith the Lord, Be ye turned again to me in all your heart, in fasting, and weeping, and wailing; (And yet even now, saith the Lord, turn ye again to me/return to me, with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing;)
13 and carve ye your hearts, and not your clothes, and be ye turned again to your Lord God, for he is benign, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and abiding, either forgiving, on malice. (and carve ye, or rend ye, your hearts, and not your clothes, and turn ye again to the Lord your God/and return to the Lord your God, for he is benign, and merciful, patient, and of much mercy, and forgiving of malice.)
14 Who knoweth, if God be (not) turned again, and forgive, and leave blessing after him? sacrifice and moist sacrifice to our Lord God. (Who knoweth, if God shall not turn again, or repent, and forgive, and even leave a blessing behind him? so, offer ye grain and wine to the Lord our God!)
15 Sing ye with a trump in Zion, hallow ye fasting, call ye (a) company; (Sing ye with a trumpet in Zion, call ye for a fast, call ye the congregation;)
16 gather together the people, hallow ye the church (gather together the people, call ye the congregation), gather ye together (the) eld men, gather ye together (the) little children, and (those) sucking the breasts; a spouse go out of his bed, and a spousess (out) of her chamber.
17 Priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep betwixt the porch and the altar, and shall say, Lord! spare thou, spare thy people, and give thou not thine heritage into shame, that nations be lords of them. Why say they among peoples, Where is the God of them? (The priests, the ministers of the Lord, shall weep between the porch and the altar, and shall say, Lord! spare thou, spare thy people, and give thou not thy own inheritance into shame, so that the nations be their lords. Why let the heathen say, Where is their God?)
18 The Lord loved jealously his land, and spared his people. (And then the Lord jealously, or zealously, loved his land, and spared his people.)
19 And the Lord answered, and said to his people, Lo! I shall send to you wheat, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be [ful]filled with those; and I shall no more give you (to be a) shame among heathen men. (And the Lord said to his people, Lo! I shall send you corn, or grain, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be fulfilled, or satisfied, with them/and ye shall be filled full with them; and I shall no more allow you to be the reproach of the heathen.)
20 And I shall make him that is at the north far from you; and I shall cast him out into a land without way, and desert; his face against the east sea, and the last part thereof at the last sea; and the stink thereof shall go up, and the root thereof shall ascend, for he did proudly. (And I shall make those who be at the north to go far away from you; and I shall throw them out into a land without a way, and turned into a desert; their front forces shall turn toward the East Sea, or the Dead Sea, and their last parts toward the West Sea, or the Mediterranean Sea; and the stink of their carrion, or of their corpses, shall go up, for I shall go out against them, because of what they did so proudly to thee.)
21 Earth, do not thou dread, make thou full out joy, and be glad; for the Lord magnified that (that) he should do. (O earth/O land, do not thou fear, rejoice, and be happy; for the Lord magnified what he said he would do.)
22 Beasts of the country, do not ye dread, for the fair things of desert burgeoned; for the tree brought his fruit, the fig tree and [the] vinery gave their strength. (Beasts in the fields, do not ye fear, for the beautiful things of the desert have burgeoned/for the pastures of the wilderness have become green; the trees have brought forth their fruit, and the fig trees and the vines gave their harvest.)
23 And the sons of Zion, make ye full out joy, and be ye glad in your Lord God, for he gave to you a teacher of rightfulness, and he shall make morrowtide rain and eventide rain to come down to you, as in the beginning. (And people of Zion, rejoice, and be ye happy in the Lord your God, for he gave you a teacher of righteousness/for he gave you the right amount of rain, and he shall make the morning, or the early, rain and the evening, or the late, rain come down to you, like before.)
24 And cornfloors shall be [full-]filled of wheat, and pressers shall flow with wine and oil. (And the threshing floors shall be filled full with grain, and the winepresses shall flow with wine and oil.)
25 And I shall yield to you the years which the locust, bruchus, and rust, and wortworm, my great strength, ate, which I sent into you. (And I shall give back to you the years which the locust, and the bruchus, and rust, and the wortworm, my great host, or my great army, ate, which I sent against you.)
26 And ye shall eat eating, and ye shall be [ful]filled; and ye shall praise the name of your Lord God, that made marvels with you; and my people shall not be shamed [into] without end. (And ye shall have plenty to eat, and ye shall be fulfilled, or satisfied/and ye shall be filled full; and ye shall praise the name of the Lord your God, who made miracles for you; and my people shall not be shamed forever.)
27 And ye shall know, that I am in the midst of Israel; and I am your Lord God, and none is more; and my people shall not be shamed [into] without end. (And ye shall know, that I am in the midst of Israel; and I am the Lord your God, and no one is greater; and my people shall not be shamed forever.)
28 And it shall be, after these things I shall shed out my spirit on each man (And it shall be, after these things I shall pour out my spirit upon everyone); and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your eld men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
29 But also I shall shed out my spirit on my servants, and handmaids, in those days; (And I shall even pour out my spirit upon slaves, and slave-girls, in those days;)
30 and I shall give great wonders in heaven, and in earth, blood, and fire, and the heat of smoke. (and I shall give great wonders in the heavens, and upon the earth, yea, blood, and fire, and the heat of smoke.)
31 The sun shall be turned into darknesses, and the moon into blood, before that the great day and horrible of the Lord come. (The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that the great and terrible day of the Lord come.)
32 And it shall be, each that calleth to help the name of the Lord shall be safe; for why salvation, either saving, shall be in the hill of Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord said, and in the residue men, which the Lord calleth. (And it shall be, that everyone who calleth on the name of the Lord for help, shall be saved; for salvation, or saving, shall be on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, as the Lord hath said, and among those who remain, or those who survive, that is, the remnant, whom the Lord calleth.)
3 For lo! in those days, and in that time, when I shall turn the captivity of Judah and of Jerusalem, (For lo! in those days, and at that time, when I shall restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,)
2 I shall gather all folks, and I shall lead them [forth] into the valley of Jehoshaphat[a]; and I shall dispute there with them on my people, and mine heritage Israel, which they scattered among nations; and they parted my land, (I shall gather all the nations, and I shall lead them forth into the Valley of Doom, that is, the Valley of Judgement; and I shall judge them there on behalf of my people Israel, my own inheritance, whom they have scattered among the nations; for they have divided up my land,)
3 and sent lot on my people; and they setted a knave child in the bordel house, and sold a damsel for wine, that they should drink. (and cast lots for my people; and they put a boy child in the bordellery, and sold a young girl for wine, so that they could have something to drink.)
4 But what to me and to you, thou Tyre, and Sidon, and each end of Palestine? Whether ye shall yield venging to me? and if ye venge you against me, soon swiftly I shall yield while to you on(to) your head. (But what be you to me, O Tyre, and Sidon, and all of Philistia? Shall ye avenge yourselves against me? if ye do avenge yourselves against me, soon and swiftly I shall turn back your despicable deeds upon your own heads.)
5 Ye took away my silver and gold, and ye brought my desirable things and fairest things into your temples of idols. (Ye took away my silver and gold, and ye brought my most desired and beautiful things into your temples of idols.)
6 And ye sold the sons of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem, to the sons of (the) Greeks, that ye should make them far from their coasts. (And ye sold the people of Judah, and of Jerusalem, to the Greeks, so that ye could send them far away from their own coasts.)
7 Lo! I shall raise them from the place in which ye sold them; and I shall turn your yielding into your head. (Lo! I shall raise them up from the place into which ye sold them; and I shall turn back your despicable deeds upon your own heads.)
8 And I shall sell your sons and your daughters in(to) the hands of the sons of Judah, and they shall sell them to (the) Sabeans, a far(-off) folk, for the Lord spake.
9 Cry ye this thing among heathen men, hallow ye battle (prepare ye for battle), raise ye (up) strong men; all men warriors, nigheth, and goeth up.
10 Beat ye together your plows[b] into swords, and your mattocks, either pickaxes, into spears; a feeble man say, that I am strong (let the weak say, I am strong).
11 All folks, break ye out, and come from compass (about), and be ye gathered together; there the Lord shall make thy strong men to die. (All the nations, break ye out, and come from all around, and be ye gathered together; and there the Lord shall make thy strong men to die.)
12 Folks rise together, and goeth up into the valley of Jehoshaphat; for I shall sit there, to deem all folks in compass. (Let all the nations rise up, and go into the Valley of Doom, or the Valley of Judgement; for there I shall sit, and judge all the nations around them.)
13 Send ye sickles, either scythes, for [the] ripe corn waxed; come ye, and go ye down, for the presser is full; pressers be plenteous, for the malice of them is multiplied. (Send ye sickles, or scythes, for the grain is ripe, or the harvest is ready; come ye, and go ye down, for the winepress is full; yea, the winepresses be overflowing, for their malice, or their wickedness, is multiplied.)
14 Peoples, peoples in the valley of cutting down; for the day of the Lord is nigh in the valley of cutting down. (Peoples, peoples in the Valley of Doom, or the Valley of Judgement; for the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Doom!)
15 The sun and the moon be made dark, and (the) stars withdraw their shining.
16 And the Lord shall roar from Zion, and shall give his voice from Jerusalem, and (the) heavens and (the) earth shall be moved; and the Lord is the hope of his people, and the strength of the sons of Israel (and the Lord is the hope of his people, and the defender of the Israelites).
17 And ye shall know, that I am your Lord God, dwelling in Zion, in mine holy hill; and Jerusalem shall be holy, and aliens shall no more pass by it. (And ye shall know, that I am the Lord your God, living in Zion, on my holy hill/living upon Mount Zion, my holy hill; and Jerusalem shall be holy, and foreigners shall no more pass through, or invade, it.)
18 And it shall be, in that day, mountains shall drop sweetness, and little hills shall flow with milk, and waters shall go by all the rivers of Judah; and a well shall go out of the house of the Lord, and shall moist the strand of thorns. (And it shall be, on that day, the mountains shall drip with sweetness, and the little hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain, or a spring, shall go out of the House of the Lord, and shall water the Shittim Valley.)
19 Egypt shall be into desolation, and Idumea into desert of perdition; for that that they did wickedly against the sons of Judah, and shedded out innocent blood in their land. (Egypt shall become a desolation, and Edom a wilderness of perdition; because they did wickedly against the people of Judah, and poured out innocent blood in their land.)
20 And Judah shall be inhabited [into] without end, and Jerusalem into generation and into generation. (And Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem for all generations.)
21 And I shall cleanse the blood of them, which I had not cleansed; and the Lord shall dwell in Zion. (And I shall purge unto the blood, that is, unto the death, those whom I have not yet purged; and then the Lord shall live in Zion/and then the Lord shall live upon Mount Zion.)
5 And I saw in the right hand of the sitter on the throne, a book written within and without, and sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a strong angel, preaching with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to undo the seals of it?
3 And none [And no man] in heaven, neither in earth, neither under earth, might open the book, neither behold it.
4 And I wept much, for none [for no man] was found worthy to open the book, neither to see it.
5 And one of the elder men said to me [And one of the elders said to me], Weep thou not; lo! a lion of the lineage of Juda, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book, and to undo the seven seals of it.
6 And I saw, and lo! in the middle of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the middle of the elder men, a lamb standing as slain, that had seven horns, and seven eyes [and in the middle of the elders, a lamb standing as slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes], which be [the] seven spirits of God, sent into all the earth.
7 And he came, and took of the right hand of the sitter in the throne the book.
8 And when he had opened the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elder men fell down before the lamb; and had each of them harps [And when he had opened the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the lamb; having each of them harps], and golden vials full of odours, which be the prayers of saints.
9 And they sung a new song, and said [saying], Lord our God, thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals of it; for thou were slain, and again-boughtest us to God in thy blood, of each lineage [of all lineage], and tongue, and people, and nation;
10 and madest us a kingdom, and priests to our God; and we shall reign on earth.[a]
11 And I saw, and heard the voice of many angels all about the throne, and of the beasts, and of the elder men.[b] And the number of them was thousands of thousands,
12 saying with a great voice, The lamb that was slain, is worthy to take virtue, and Godhead [and divinity, or Godhead], and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
13 And each creature that is in heaven, and that is on [the] earth, and under earth, and the sea, and which things be in it, I heard all saying, To him that sat in the throne, and to the lamb, blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, into worlds of worlds.
14 And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elder men [And the four and twenty elders] fell down on their faces, and worshipped him that liveth into worlds of worlds.
2001 by Terence P. Noble