| 1:1 |
The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethu′elPethuel: |
| 1:2 |
Hear this youO agedelders men give ear all inhabitants of the land Has such a thing happened in your days or in the days of your fathersancestors |
| 1:5 |
AwakeWake up you drunkards and weep; and wail all you drinkers of wine becausedrinkers ofover the sweet wine for it is cut off from your mouth |
| 1:6 |
For a nation has comeinvaded up against my land powerful and without numberinnumerable; its teeth are lions teeth and it has the fangs of a lioness |
| 1:7 |
It has laid waste my vines and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches arehave madeturned white |
| 1:8 |
Lament like a virgin girdeddressed within sackcloth for the bridegroomhusband of her youth |
| 1:9 |
The cerealgrain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord The priests mourn the ministers of the Lord |
| 1:10 |
The fields are laiddevastated waste the ground mourns; becausefor the grain is destroyed the wine failsdries up the oil languishesfails |
| 1:11 |
Be confoundeddismayed Oyou tillersfarmers of the soil wail Oyou vinedressers forover the wheat and the barley; becausefor the harvestcrops of the field hasare perishedruined |
| 1:12 |
The vine withers the fig tree languishesdroops Pomegranate palm and apple— all the trees of the field are withereddried up; andsurely gladnessjoy failswithers fromaway among the sons of menpeople |
| 1:13 |
GirdPut on sackcloth and lament Oyou priests; wail Oyou ministers of the altar GoCome in pass the night in sackcloth Oyou ministers of my God BecauseGrain cereal offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God |
| 1:14 |
Sanctify a fast call a solemn assembly Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God; and cry out to the Lord |
| 1:18 |
How the beastsanimals groan The herds of cattle arewander perplexedabout because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep are dismayeddazed |
| 1:19 |
UntoTo theeyou O Lord I cry For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness and flameflames hashave burned all the trees of the field |
| 1:20 |
Even the wild beastsanimals cry to theeyou because the waterwatercourses brooks are dried up and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness |
| 2:1 |
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord is coming it is near— |
| 2:2 |
a day of darkness and gloom a day of clouds and thick darkness Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful peoplearmy comes; their like has never been from of old nor will be again after them throughin theages yearsto of all generationscome |
| 2:3 |
Fire devours beforein front of them and behind them a flame burns TheBefore them the land is like the garden of Eden before them but after them a desolate wilderness and nothing escapes them |
| 2:4 |
TheirThey appearancehave is like the appearance of horses and like war horses they runcharge |
| 2:7 |
Like warriors they charge like soldiers they scale the wall TheyEach marchkeeps eachto onits hisown waycourse they do not swerve from their paths |
| 2:8 |
They do not jostle one another each marcheskeeps into hisits pathown track; they burst through the weapons and are not halted |
| 2:11 |
The Lord utters his voice beforeat the head of his army; forhow vast is his host isNumberless exceedinglyare great;those hewho thatobey executes his wordcommand isTruly powerful For the day of the Lord is great; and very terrible; indeed—who can endure it |
| 2:13 |
and rend your hearts and not your garmentsclothing Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and repentsrelents offrom evilpunishing |
| 2:14 |
Who knows whether he will not turn and repentrelent and leave a blessing behind him a cerealgrain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God |
| 2:16 |
gather the people Sanctify the congregation; assemble the eldersaged; gather the children even nursing infants at the breast Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chambercanopy |
| 2:17 |
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests the ministers of the Lord weep andLet them say Spare thyyour people O Lord and makedo not thymake your heritage a reproachmockery a byword among the nations Why should theyit saybe said among the peoples Where is their God |
| 2:19 |
TheIn Lordresponse answered and said to his people Beholdthe Lord said: I am sending to you grain wine and oil and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproachmockery among the nations |
| 2:20 |
I will remove the northernernorthern army far from you and drive himit into a parched and desolate land hisits front into the eastern sea and hisits rear into the western sea; theits stench and foul smell of him will rise forup Surely he has done great things |
| 2:21 |
FearDo not fear O landsoil; be glad and rejoice for the Lord has done great things |
| 2:22 |
FearDo not fear you beastsanimals of the field for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit the fig tree and vine give their full yield |
| 2:23 |
Be glad O sonschildren of Zion be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication he has poured down for you abundant rain the early and the latterlater rain as before |
| 2:25 |
I will restorerepay to you for the years whichthat the swarming locust has eaten the hopper the destroyer and the cutter my great army which I sent amongagainst you |
| 2:27 |
You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel and that I the Lord am your God and there is noneno elseother And my people shall never again be put to shame |
| 2:28 |
AndThen it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions |
| 2:29 |
Even uponon the menservantsmale and maidservantsfemale slaves in those days I will pour out my spirit |
| 2:30 |
And I will giveshow portents in the heavens and on the earth blood and fire and columns of smoke |
| 2:32 |
AndThen iteveryone shall come to pass that all who callcalls uponon the name of the Lord shall be deliveredsaved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape as the Lord has said and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls |
| 3:1 |
For beholdthen in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem |
| 3:2 |
I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehosh′aphatJehoshaphat and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of my people and my heritage Israel because they have scattered them among the nations andThey have divided up my land |
| 3:3 |
and have cast lots for my people and havetraded givenboys a boy for aprostitutes harlot and have sold agirls girl for wine and have drunk it down |
| 3:4 |
What are you to me O Tyre and Sidon and all the regions of Philistia Are you paying me back for something If you are paying me back I will requiteturn your deeddeeds back upon your own headheads swiftly and speedily |
| 3:7 |
But now I will stirrouse them upto fromleave the placeplaces to which you have sold them and I will requiteturn your deeddeeds back upon your own headheads |
| 3:8 |
I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sonspeople of Judah and they will sell them to the Sabe′ansSabeans to a nation far offaway; for the Lord has spoken |
| 3:9 |
Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare war stir up the mightywarriors men Let all the mensoldiers of war draw near let them come up |
| 3:10 |
Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakweakling say I am a warrior |
| 3:11 |
HastenCome andquickly come all you nations roundall aboutaround gather yourselves there Bring down thyyour warriors O Lord |
| 3:12 |
Let the nations bestirrouse themselves and come up to the valley of Jehosh′aphatJehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the neighboring nations round about |
| 3:16 |
AndThe the Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem and the heavens and the earth shake But the Lord is a refuge tofor his people a stronghold tofor the people of Israel |
| 3:17 |
So you shall know that I am the Lord your God who dwell in Zion my holy mountain And Jerusalem shall be holy and strangers shall never again pass through it |
| 3:18 |
AndIn in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine and the hills shall flow with milk and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the valleyWadi of Shittim |
| 3:19 |
Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness forbecause of the violence done to the people of Judah becausein whose land they have shed innocent blood in their land |
| 3:20 |
But Judah shall be inhabited forforever ever and Jerusalem to all generations |