Joel 1:1–2:27

¹A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Joel, son of Pethuel: ²Hear this, ye aged ones, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, Hath this been in your days? Or in the days of your fathers? ³Concerning it to your sons talk ye, And your sons to their sons, And their sons to another generation. ⁴What is left of the palmer-worm, eaten hath the locust, And what is left of the locust, Eaten hath the cankerworm, And what is left of the cankerworm, Eaten hath the caterpillar. ⁵Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it hath been cut off from your mouth. ⁶For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. ⁷It hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches.

⁸Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth. ⁹Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah. ¹⁰Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil. ¹¹Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field. ¹²The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons of men. ¹³Gird, and lament, ye priests, Howl, ye ministrants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, ministrants of my God, For withheld from the house of your God hath been present and libation.

¹⁴Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders—all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of Jehovah your God, ¹⁵And cry unto Jehovah, ‘Alas for the day! For near is a day of Jehovah, And as destruction from the mighty it cometh. ¹⁶Is not before our eyes food cut off? From the house of our God joy and rejoicing? ¹⁷Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn. ¹⁸How have cattle sighed! Perplexed have been droves of oxen, For there is no pasture for them, Also droves of sheep have been desolated. ¹⁹Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I do call, For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness, And a flame hath set on fire all trees of the field. ²⁰Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!’

Chapter 2

¹Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, And shout ye in My holy hill, Tremble do all inhabitants of the earth, For coming is the day of Jehovah, for it is near! ²A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloud and thick darkness, As darkness spread on the mountains, A people numerous and mighty, Like it there hath not been from of old, And after it there is not again—till the years of generation and generation. ³Before it consumed hath fire, And after it burn doth a flame, As the garden of Eden is the land before it, And after it a wilderness—a desolation! And also an escape there hath not been to it, ⁴As the appearance of horses is its appearance, And as horsemen, so they run. ⁵As the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains they skip, As the noise of a flame of fire devouring stubble, As a mighty people set in array for battle. ⁶From its face pained are peoples, All faces have gathered paleness. ⁷As mighty ones they run, As men of war they go up a wall, And each in his own ways they do go, And they embarrass not their paths. ⁸And each his brother they press not, Each in his way they go on, If by the missile they fall, they are not cut off. ⁹In the city they run to and fro, On the wall they run, Into houses they go up by the windows, They go in as a thief. ¹⁰At their face trembled hath the earth, Shaken have the heavens, Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining. ¹¹And Jehovah hath given forth His voice before His force, For very great is His camp, For mighty is the doer of His word, For great is the day of Jehovah—very fearful, And who doth bear it?

¹²And also now—an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation. ¹³And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful is He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil. ¹⁴Who knoweth—He doth turn back, Yea—He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God? ¹⁵Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast—proclaim a restraint. ¹⁶Gather the people, sanctify an assembly, Assemble the aged, Gather infants and sucklings of the breasts, Go out let a bridegroom from his inner chamber, And a bride out of her closet. ¹⁷Between the porch and the altar weep let the priests, ministrants of Jehovah, And let them say: ‘Have pity, O Jehovah, on Thy people, And give not Thy inheritance to reproach, To the ruling over them of nations, Why do they say among peoples, Where is their God?’

¹⁸And let Jehovah be zealous for His land, And have pity on His people. ¹⁹Let Jehovah answer and say to His people, ‘Lo, I am sending to you the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And ye have been satisfied with it, And I make you no more a reproach among nations, ²⁰And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work. ²¹Do not fear, O land! joy and rejoice, For Jehovah hath exerted Himself to work. ²²Do not fear, O cattle of the field! For sprung forth have pastures of a wilderness, For the tree hath borne its fruit, Fig-tree and vine have given their strength! ²³And ye sons of Zion, joy and rejoice, In Jehovah your God, For He hath given to you the Teacher for righteousness, And causeth to come down to you a shower, Sprinkling and gathered—in the beginning. ²⁴And full have been the floors with pure corn, And overflown have the presses with new wine and oil. ²⁵And I have recompensed to you the years That consume did the locust, the cankerworm, And the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great force that I did send against you. ²⁶And ye have eaten, eating and being satisfied, And have praised the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt with you wonderfully, And not ashamed are My people to the age. ²⁷And ye have known that in the midst of Israel am I, And I am Jehovah your God, and there is none else, And not ashamed are My people to the age.