The word of the LORD
that came to Joel
the son
of Pethuel
.
Hear this, ye old men
, and give ear
, all ye inhabitants
of the land
. Hath this been in your days
, or even
in the days
of your fathers
?
Tell ye your children
of it, and let your children
tell their children
, and their children
another
generation
.
That which the palmerworm hath left
hath the locust
eaten
; and that which the locust
hath left
hath the cankerworm
eaten
; and that which the cankerworm
hath left
hath the caterpiller
eaten
.
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
.
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
.
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
.
Lament like a virgin
girded
with sackcloth
for the husband
of her youth
.
The meat offering and the drink offering
is cut off
from the house
of the LORD
; the priests
, the LORD'S
ministers
, mourn
.
The field is wasted
, the land
mourneth
; for the corn
is wasted
: the new wine
is dried up
, the oil
languisheth
.
Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen
; howl
, O ye vinedressers
, for the wheat
and for the barley
; because the harvest
of the field
is perished
.
The vine is dried up
, and the fig tree
languisheth
; the pomegranate
tree, the palm tree
also, and the apple tree
, even all the trees
of the field
, are withered
: because joy
is withered away
from the sons
of men
.
Gird yourselves, and lament
, ye priests
: howl
, ye ministers
of the altar
: come
, lie all night
in sackcloth
, ye ministers
of my God
: for the meat offering
and the drink offering
is withholden
from the house
of your God
.
Sanctify ye a fast
, call
a solemn assembly
, gather
the elders
and all the inhabitants
of the land
into the house
of the LORD
your God
, and cry
unto the LORD
,
Alas for the day
! for the day
of the LORD
is at hand
, and as a destruction
from the Almighty
shall it come
.
Is not the meat cut off
before our eyes
, yea , joy
and gladness
from the house
of our God
?
The seed is rotten
under their clods
, the garners
are laid desolate
, the barns
are broken down
; for the corn
is withered
.
How do the beasts groan
! the herds
of cattle
are perplexed
, because they have no pasture
; yea, the flocks
of sheep
are made desolate
.
O LORD, to thee will I cry
: for the fire
hath devoured
the pastures
of the wilderness
, and the flame
hath burned
all the trees
of the field
.
The beasts of the field
cry
also unto thee: for the rivers
of waters
are dried up
, and the fire
hath devoured
the pastures
of the wilderness
.