Joel 1, verse 1. The word of the Lord came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Invasion of the Locusts and the Caterpillars
Joel 1, verse 2. Hear this, you elders, and give ear, all of you inhabiting the land. Have such things happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? Joel 1, verse 3. Tell your children about this, and your children to their children, and their children to the next generation. Joel 1, verse 4. What the caterpillars have left is eaten by the grasshopper, and what the grasshoppers have left is eaten by the locust, and what the locusts have left is infected with red blight. Joel 1, verse 5. Get sober, you who are drunk from your wine, and weep, mourn all you who drink wine, for joy and gladness are removed from your mouth. Joel 1, verse 6. For a nation strong and numberless came up against My land. His teeth are the teeth of a lion and his molars those of a young lion. Joel 1, verse 7. He laid waste My vine and splintered My fig tree. He diligently searched out and uprooted My vine, peeling off its outer bark. Joel 1, verse 8. Mourn before Me more than a virgin bride clothed with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. Joel 1, verse 9. The meat-offering and the drink-offering are removed from the house of the Lord. Mourn, you priests, you who serve at the altar, Joel 1, verse 10. for the fields languish and the land mourns; for the grain withers, the wine is dried up, and the olive oil is scarce. Joel 1, verse 11. The farmers are exhausted. Mourn for the sake of your fields of wheat and barley, for the harvest from the field has been lost. Joel 1, verse 12. The vine is shriveled up, and the fig trees are scarce in number. The pomegranate and the palm tree, the apple tree and all the trees of the field are withered, for they put to shame the delight of the sons of men. Joel 1, verse 13. Gird yourself with sackcloth and wail, you priests. Mourn, you who serve at the altar. Go in, sleep in sackcloth, you who minister unto God, for the grain-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God. Joel 1, verse 14. Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather all the elders and all the people of the land into the house of the Lord your God, and cry out fervently to the Lord. Joel 1, verse 15. Alas! Alas! Alas! For the day of the Lord draws near, and it will come as misery upon misery. Joel 1, verse 16. The food is completely destroyed before your eyes; joy and gladness are removed from the house of your God. Joel 1, verse 17. The heifers are restless in their stalls, and the storehouses are emptied. The winepresses are broken down; the grain is withered. Joel 1, verse 18. What will we store up for ourselves? The herds of cattle groaned because there was no pasture, and the flocks of sheep are no more. Joel 1, verse 19. O Lord, I will cry out to You, for fire has devoured the pleasant places of the wilderness, and a flame burned all the trees of the field. Joel 1, verse 20. And the cattle of the field also look up to You, because the brooks are dried up and fire has devoured the pleasant places of the wilderness.