Joel 1:5–9

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you drinkers of wine;

wail because of the new wine,

for it has been snatched from your lips.

6 A nation has invaded my land,

a mighty army without number;

it has the teeth of a lion,

the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has laid waste my vines

and ruined my fig trees.

It has stripped off their bark

and thrown it away,

leaving their branches white.

8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth

grieving for the betrothed of her youth.

9 Grain offerings and drink offerings

are cut off from the house of the Lord.

The priests are in mourning,

those who minister before the Lord.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep;

And howl, all ye drinkers of wine,

Because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation is come up upon my land,

Strong, and without number,

Whose teeth are the teeth of a lion,

And he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

7 He hath laid my vine waste,

And barked my fig tree:

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

The branches thereof are made white.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

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

The priests, the Lord’s ministers, mourn.

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you wine-drinkers!

All the grapes are ruined,

and all your sweet wine is gone.

6 A vast army of locusts has invaded my land,

a terrible army too numerous to count.

Its teeth are like lions’ teeth,

its fangs like those of a lioness.

7 It has destroyed my grapevines

and ruined my fig trees,

stripping their bark and destroying it,

leaving the branches white and bare.

8 Weep like a bride dressed in black,

mourning the death of her husband.

9 For there is no grain or wine

to offer at the Temple of the Lord.

So the priests are in mourning.

The ministers of the Lord are weeping.

5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep;

And wail, all you drinkers of wine,

Because of the new wine,

For it has been cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation has come up against My land,

Strong, and without number;

His teeth are the teeth of a lion,

And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.

7 He has laid waste My vine,

And ruined My fig tree;

He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;

Its branches are made white.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth

For the husband of her youth.

9 The grain offering and the drink offering

Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;

The priests mourn, who minister to the Lord.

5 Drunks, wake up and cry!

All you people who drink wine, cry!

Cry because your wine

has been taken away from your mouths.

6 A powerful nation has come into my land

with too many soldiers to count.

It has teeth like a lion,

jaws like a female lion.

7 It has made my grapevine a waste

and made my fig tree a stump.

It has stripped all the bark off my trees

and left the branches white.

8 Cry as a young woman cries

when the man she was going to marry has died.

9 There will be no more grain or drink offerings

to offer in the Temple of the Lord.

Because of this, the priests,

the servants of the Lord, are sad.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. 7 He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

8 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The meal-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah’s ministers, mourn.

5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine: for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number: his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a lioness. 7 He hath made my vine a desolation, and barked my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away: its branches are made white.

8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. 9 The oblation and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; the priests, Jehovah’s ministers, mourn.

5 Wake up and cry, you drunks! 

Cry loudly, you wine drinkers! 

New wine has been taken away from you. 

6 A strong nation attacked my land. 

It has too many soldiers to count. 

They have teeth like lions. 

They have fangs like grown lions. 

7 They destroyed my grapevines. 

They ruined my fig trees. 

They stripped off what they could eat, 

threw the rest away, 

and left the branches bare. 

8 Cry loudly like a young woman who is dressed in sackcloth, 

mourning for the man she was going to marry. 

9 Grain offerings and wine offerings 

are no longer brought to the Lord’s temple. 

The priests, the Lord’s servants, mourn. 

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;

wail, all you wine drinkers,

because of the sweet wine,

for it has been taken from your mouth.

6 For a nation has invaded My land,

powerful and without number;

its teeth are the teeth of a lion,

and it has the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has devastated My grapevine

and splintered My fig tree.

It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away;

its branches have turned white.

8 Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth,

mourning for the husband of her youth.

9 Grain and drink offerings have been cut off

from the house of the Lord;

the priests, who are ministers of the Lord, mourn.

5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep,

and wail, all you wine drinkers,

over the sweet wine,

for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation has invaded my land,

powerful and innumerable;

its teeth are lions’ teeth,

and it has the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has laid waste my vines

and splintered my fig trees;

it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;

their branches have turned white.

8 Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth

for the husband of her youth.

9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off

from the house of the Lord.

The priests mourn,

the ministers of the Lord.

5 Wake up, drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all drinkers of wine, over the new wine,

for it is cut off from your mouth.

6 Because a nation has invaded my land,

strong and beyond counting.

Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,

and its fangs are those of a lioness.

7 It has made my vine a desolation,

and my fig tree a completely splintered stump.

It has stripped them bare and thrown them down;

their branches have turned white.

8 Lament like a virgin girded in sackcloth

for the husband of her youth.

9 The offering and libation are withheld

from the house of Yahweh.

The priests mourn,

the ministers of Yahweh.

5 Get up and sob, you people who drink too much!

Cry, all you who drink wine!

Cry because the fresh wine

has been taken away from you.

6 The locusts are like an army

that has marched into our land.

There are so many of them

they can’t even be counted.

Their teeth are as sharp as a lion’s teeth.

They are like the fangs of a female lion.

7 The locusts have completely destroyed our vines.

They have wiped out our fig trees.

They’ve stripped off the bark and thrown it away.

They’ve left the branches bare.

8 My people, sob like a virgin

who is dressed in black clothes.

She is sad because she has lost

the young man she was going to marry.

9 No one brings grain offerings and drink offerings

to the Lord’s house anymore.

So the priests who serve the Lord

are filled with sorrow.

5 Awake, drunkards, and weep;

And wail, all you wine drinkers,

On account of the sweet wine

That is cut off from your mouth.

6 For a nation has invaded my land,

Mighty and without number;

Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,

And it has the fangs of a lioness.

7 It has made my vine a waste

And my fig tree splinters.

It has stripped them bare and cast them away;

Their branches have become white.

8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth

For the bridegroom of her youth.

9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off

From the house of the Lord.

The priests mourn,

The ministers of the Lord.