Joel 1:10–17

The fields are sterile.

The very ground grieves.

The wheat fields are lifeless,

vineyards dried up, olive oil gone.

^11–12Dirt farmers, despair!

Grape growers, wring your hands!

Lament the loss of wheat and barley.

All crops have failed.

Vineyards dried up,

fig trees withered,

Pomegranates, date palms, and apple trees—

deadwood everywhere!

And joy is dried up and withered

in the hearts of the people.

Nothing’s Going On in the Place of Worship

^13–14And also you priests,

put on your robes and join the outcry.

You who lead people in worship,

lead them in lament.

Spend the night dressed in gunnysacks,

you servants of my God.

Nothing’s going on in the place of worship,

no offerings, no prayers—nothing.

Declare a holy fast, call a special meeting,

get the leaders together,

Round up everyone in the country.

Get them into God’s Sanctuary for serious prayer to God.

^15–18What a day! Doomsday!

God’s Judgment Day has come.

The Strong God has arrived.

This is serious business!

Food is just a memory at our tables,

as are joy and singing from God’s Sanctuary.

The seeds in the field are dead,

barns deserted,

Grain silos abandoned.

Who needs them? The crops have failed!