Joel 1–2

The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

^2aHear this, ^bye old men,

And give ear, ^ball ye inhabitants of the land.

^bbHath this been in your days,

Or even in the days of your fathers?

^3cTell ye your children of it,

And let your children tell their children,

And their children another generation.

⁴That which ^dthe palmerworm hath left hath ^ethe locust eaten;

And that which ^ethe locust hath left hath ^fthe cankerworm eaten;

And that which ^fthe cankerworm hath left hath ^gthe caterpillar eaten.

⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep;

And ^hhowl, all ye drinkers of wine,

Because of ⁱthe new wine, ^kfor it is cut off from your mouth.

⁶For ^la nation is come up upon my land,

^lStrong, and without number,

^mWhose teeth are the teeth of a lion,

And he hath ⁿthe cheek-teeth of a ^ogreat lion.

⁷He hath laid my vine waste,

And ^pbarked my fig tree:

He hath made it clean bare, and cast it away;

^qThe branches thereof are made white.

⁸Lament like a virgin ^rgirded with sackcloth for ^sthe husband of her youth.

^9tThe meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the Lord;

^uThe priests, ^uthe Lord’s ministers, mourn.

¹⁰The field is wasted, ^vthe land mourneth;

For ^wthe corn is wasted, ^wxthe new wine is ^ydried up, ^wthe oil ^yylanguisheth.

^11zBe ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers,

For the wheat and for the barley;

Because the harvest of the field is perished.

¹²The vine is ^ydried up, and ^pthe fig tree languisheth;

The pomegranate tree, ^athe palm tree also, and ^bthe apple tree,

Even all the trees of the field, are withered:

Because ^cjoy is ^ywithered away from the sons of men.

^13deGird yourselves, and ^dlament, ye priests:

^dHowl, ye ministers of the altar:

Come, lie all night ^ein sackcloth, ^fye ministers of my God;

For ^fthe meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

^14gSanctify ye a fast, ^gcall a solemn assembly,

^gGather ^hthe elders and ^hall the inhabitants of the land

Into the house of the Lord your God,

And cry unto the Lord,

¹⁵Alas for the day! ⁱfor the day of the Lord is at hand,

And as a ^jdestruction from ^kthe Almighty shall it come.

^16fIs not the meat cut off before our eyes,

Yea, ^ljoy and gladness ^ffrom the house of our God?

^17llThe seed is rotten under their clods,

The garners are laid desolate, ^mthe barns are broken down;

For the corn is ^ywithered.

¹⁸ⁿHow do the beasts groan!

The herds of cattle ⁿⁿare perplexed,

Because they have no pasture;

Yea, the flocks of sheep ^oare made desolate.

¹⁹O Lord, ^pto thee will I cry:

For ^qthe fire hath devoured ^rthe pastures of the wilderness,

And ^sthe flame hath burnt all the trees of the field.

²⁰ⁿThe beasts of the field ^tcry also unto thee:

For ^uthe rivers of waters ^vare dried up,

And ^qthe fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

II.^aBlow ye the trumpet ^bin Zion, and ^asound an alarm in ^bmy holy mountain:

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble:

^cFor the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

^2cdeA day of darkness and ^deof gloominess,

^dfA day of clouds and ^dfof thick darkness,

As ^gthe morning spread upon the mountains:

^hA great people and a strong;

ⁱThere hath not been ever the like,

Neither shall be any more after it,

Even to the years of many generations.

^3jA fire devoureth before them;

And behind them ^ja flame burneth:

The land is as ^kthe garden of Eden before them,

And ^kkbehind them ^la desolate wilderness;

Yea, and ^llnothing shall escape them.

^4mThe appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;

And as horsemen, so shall they run.

⁵ⁿLike the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they ⁿⁿleap,

Like the noise of a flame of ^ofire that devoureth the stubble,

^hAs a strong people set in battle array.

⁶Before their face the people shall be much pained:

^pAll faces ^qshall gather blackness.

⁷They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war;

And they shall march every one on his ways,

And they shall not break their ranks:

⁸Neither shall one ^rthrust another;

They shall walk every one in his path:

And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not ^sbe wounded.

^9tThey shall ^urun to and fro in the city;

They shall ^urun upon the wall,

They shall climb up upon the houses;

^vThey shall enter in at the windows ^vvlike a thief.

^10wThe earth shall quake before them;

^wThe heavens shall tremble:

^xyThe sun and the moon shall be dark,

^xAnd the stars shall withdraw their shining:

¹¹And ^xxthe Lord shall utter his voice before ^yhis army:

For ^hhis ^zcamp is very great:

^aFor he is strong that executeth his word:

For ^bcthe day of the Lord is great and very ^cterrible;

And ^dwho can abide it?

¹²Therefore also now, saith the Lord,

^eTurn ye even to me with all your heart,

And ^fwith fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

¹³And ^grent your heart, and not ^hyour garments,

And ^eturn unto the Lord your God:

For ^ijhe is gracious and ^ijmerciful,

^ijSlow to anger, and ^ijkof great kindness,

And ⁱrepenteth him of the evil.

^14lWho knoweth if he will return and repent,

And leave ^ma blessing behind him;

Even ⁿa meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?

^15oBlow the trumpet in Zion,

^pSanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

¹⁶Gather the people, ^qsanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,

^rGather the children, and those that suck the breasts:

^sLet the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her ^tcloset.

¹⁷Let ^uthe priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep ^vbetween ^wthe porch and ^xthe altar,

And let them say, ^ySpare thy people, O Lord,

And give not thine heritage to reproach,

That the heathen should rule over them:

^zWherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

¹⁸Then will the Lord ^abe jealous for his land,

And ^bpity his people.

¹⁹Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people,

Behold, I will send you ^cdcorn, and ^cwine, and ^coil,

And ye shall be satisfied therewith:

And I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

²⁰But ^ddI will remove far off from you ^ethe northern army,

And will drive him into a land barren and desolate,

With his face toward ^fthe east sea,

And his hinder part towards ^gthe utmost sea,

And ^hhis stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up,

Because he hath done great things.

²¹Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice:

For the Lord will do great things.

²²ⁱBe not afraid, ye beasts of the field:

For ^kthe pastures of the wilderness do spring,

For ^lthe tree beareth her fruit,

^lThe fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

^23mBe glad then, ye children of Zion, and ^mrejoice in the Lord your God:

For he hath given you ^othe former rain moderately,

And ^phe will cause to come down for you the rain,

^oThe former rain, and ^qthe latter rain in the first month.

²⁴And the floors shall be full of ^cwheat,

And ^rthe fats shall overflow with ^cwine and ^coil.

²⁵And I will restore to you the years that ^sthe locust hath eaten,

^sThe cankerworm, and ^sthe caterpillar, and ^sthe palmerworm,

^tMy great army which I sent among you.

²⁶And ^cuye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied,

And praise the name of the Lord your God,

That hath dealt wondrously with you:

And ^vmy people shall never be ashamed.

^27wAnd ye shall know that I am ^xin the midst of Israel,

And that ^yI am the Lord your God, and none else:

And ^vmy people shall never be ashamed.

^28zAnd it shall come to pass afterward,

That ^aI will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;

And ^bcyour sons and ^cdyour daughters shall prophesy,

^cYour old men shall dream ^edreams,

^cYour young men shall see ^fvisions:

^29cAnd also upon ^gthe servants and upon the handmaids

In those days will I pour out my spirit.

³⁰And ^hI will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth,

Blood, and fire, and ⁱpillars of smoke.

^31kThe sun shall be turned into darkness, and ^klthe moon into blood,

^mBefore ⁿthe great and ^mnthe terrible day of the Lord come.

³²And it shall come to pass, that ^owhosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered:

For ^pqin mount Zion and in Jerusalem ^prshall be deliverance,

As the Lord hath said,

And in ^sthe remnant whom the Lord shall call.

III.