1  THE WORD of YHWH that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

2  Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or in the days of your fathers?

3  Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

3  Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.

4  That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

4  The leavings of the caterpillar has the locust eaten, and the leavings of the locust has the palmerworm eaten, and the leavings of the palmerworm has the cankerworm eaten.

5  Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, and wail, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.

5  Awake, ye drunkards, from your wine, and weep: mourn, all ye that drink wine to drunkenness: for joy and gladness and are removed from your mouth.

5  Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth.

6  For a people is come up upon my land, mighty, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw- teeth of a lioness.

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.

6  A nation has come up against my land, strong, and without number; whose teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his fangs as the fangs of a lion's whelp.

7  He hath laid my vine waste, and blasted my fig-tree; he hath made it clean bare, and cast it down, the branches thereof are made white.

7  He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white.

7  He has laid my vine waste, and has cut off my fig tree and thrown it away; the branches thereof are made white.

8  Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

8  Lament to me more than a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

9  The meal-offering and the drink-offering is cut off from the house of YHWH; the priests mourn, even the YHWH'S ministers.

9  The meat-offering and drink-offering are removed from the house of the Lord: mourn, ye priests that serve at the altar of the Lord.

9  Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.

10  The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted, the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

10  For the plains languish: let the land mourn, for the corn languishes; the wine is dried up, the oil becomes scarce;

10  The region has been depopulated, the soil has mourned. For the wheat has been devastated, the wine has been disfigured, the oil has languished.

11  Be ashamed, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

11  the husbandmen are consumed: mourn your property on account of the wheat and barley; for the harvest has perished from off the field.

11  The farmers have been confounded, the vineyard workers have wailed over the crop and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

12  The vine is withered, 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; for joy is withered away from the sons of men.

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 have abolished joy.

12  The vineyard is in ruin, and the fig tree has languished. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fruit tree, and all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has been thrown into disorder before the sons of men.

13  Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests, wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God; for the meal-offering and the drink-offering is withholden from the house of your God.

13  Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God.

13  Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, O you priests; howl, O you ministers of the altar; go in, spend the night in sackcloth, O you ministers of my God, because the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.

14  Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of YHWH your God, and cry unto the YHWH.

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,

15  Alas for the day! for the day of YHWH is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

15  Alas, Alas, Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is nigh, and it will come as trouble upon trouble.

15  “Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.

16  Is not the food cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17  The grains shrivel under their hoes; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

17  The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.

17  The cows languish at their mangers, the granaries are laid waste, the winepresses are thrown down, and the grain is dried up.

18  How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

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.

19  Unto Thee, O YHWH, do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath set ablaze all the trees of the field.

19  To thee, O Lord, will I cry: for fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness, and a flame has burnt up all the trees of the field.

19  To you, O Lord, I will cry out, because fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the countryside.

20  Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto Thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

20  Yes, and even the beasts of the field have gazed up at you, like the dry ground thirsting for rain, because the fountains of waters have dried up, and fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness.