1:1 The word of the Lord which came to Joel the son of Bathuel.
1:2 Hear these words, ye elders,And hearken all ye that inhabit the land.Have such things happen in your days,Or in the days of your fathers?
1:3 Tell your children concerning them,And let your children tell their children,And their children another generation.
1:4 The leavings of the caterpillar hath the locust eaten,And the leavings of the locust hath the palmerworm eaten,And the leavings of the palmerworm hath the cankerworm eaten.
1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, from your wine, and weep:Mourn, all ye that drink wine to drunkenness:For joy and gladness and removed are from your mouth.
1:6 For a strong and innumerable nation is come up against my land,Their teeth are lion's teeth,And their back teeth those of a lion's whelp.
1:7 He hath ruined my vine, and utterly broken my fig-trees:He hath utterly searched my vine, and cast it down;He hath peeled its branches.
1:8 Lament to me more than a virgin,Girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
1:9 The food-offering and drink-offering are removed from the House of the Lord:Mourn, ye priests that serve at the Altar of the Lord.
1:10 For the plains languish:Let the land mourn, for the grain languishes;The wine is dried up, the oil becomes scarce;
1:11 The husbandmen are consumed:Mourn your property on account of the wheat and barley;For the harvest hath perished from off the field.
1:12 The vine is dried up, and the fig-trees are become few;The pomegranate, and palm-tree, and apple,And all trees of the field are dried up:For the sons of men have abolished joy.
1:13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests:Mourn, ye that serve at the Altar:Go in, sleep in sackcloths, ye that serve God:For the food-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the House of your God.
1:14 Sanctify a fast, proclaim a solemn service,Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the House of your God,And cry earnestly to the Lord,
1:15 Alas, Alas, Alas for the day!For the day of the Lord is nigh,And it will come as trouble upon trouble.
1:16 Your food hath been destroyed before your eyes,Joy and gladness from out of the House of your God.
1:17 The heifers have started at their mangers,The treasures are abolished,The wine-presses are broken down;For the grain is withered.
1:18 What shall we store up for ourselves?The herds of cattle have mourned,Because they had no pasture;And the flocks of sheep have been utterly destroyed.
1:19 To thee, O Lord, will I cry:For fire hath devoured the fair places of the wilderness,And a flame hath burnt up all the trees of the field.
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