1 1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land! Hath such a thing happened in your days, Or even 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! 4 That which the gnawing-locust left hath the swarming-locust eaten, And that which the swarming-locust left hath the licking-locust eaten, And that which the licking-locust left hath the consuming-locust eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep! Howl, all ye drinkers of wine, For the new wine, which is snatched from your mouths! 6 For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and not to be numbered; Their teeth are the teeth of the lion; They have the jaw-teeth of the lioness. 7 They have made my vine a desolation, And my fig-tree a broken branch; They have made it quite bare and cast it away; The branches thereof are made white. 8 Lament ye, like a bride, Clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth! 9 The flour-offering and the drink-offering are cut off from the house of Jehovah; The priests, the servants of Jehovah mourn. 10 The field is laid waste; The ground mourneth, For the corn is laid waste; The new wine is dried up; The oil languisheth. 11 Lament, O ye husbandmen, Howl, O ye vine-dressers, For the wheat and the barley, For the harvest of the field hath perished! 12 The vine is dried up, And the fig-tree languisheth; The pomegranate, the palm-tree, and the apple-tree,—All the trees of the field, are withered; Yea, joy is withered away from the sons of men. 13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth and mourn, ye priests! Howl, ye ministers of the altar! Come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God, For the flour-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God! 14 Appoint ye a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of Jehovah, your God, And cry unto Jehovah! 15 Alas, alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is near; Even as destruction from the Almighty doth it come. 16 Is not our food cut off from before our eyes, Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seeds are rotten under their clods, The storehouses are laid desolate, the garners are destroyed; For the corn is withered. 18 How do the beasts groan, How do the herds of oxen wander perplexed, Having no pasture! The flocks of sheep also are destroyed. 19 To thee, O Jehovah, do I call, For a fire hath devoured the pastures of the desert, And a flame hath burned all the trees of the field! 20 The beasts of the field, also, cry unto thee, For the streams of water are dried up, And a fire hath devoured the pastures of the desert!
2 1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble! For the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is near! 2 A day of darkness, and gloominess, A day of clouds, and thick darkness. As the morning light spreadeth itself upon the mountains, There cometh a numerous people and a strong; Like them there have been none of old time, And after them there shall not be, Even to the years of many generations. 3 A fire devoureth before them, And behind them a flame burneth; The land is as the garden of Eden before them. And behind them a desolate wilderness! Yea, nothing escapeth them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, And like horsemen do they run; 5 Like rattling chariots they leap on the tops of the mountains; Like the crackling flame of fire, which devoureth stubble; Like a mighty host set in battle array. 6 Before them the people tremble, And all faces gather blackness. 7 They run like mighty men; They climb the wall like warriors; They march every one on his way; They change not their paths. 8 One doth not thrust another; They march every one in his path, And though they rush among weapons, they are not wounded. 9 They run through the city; They run upon the wall; They go up into the houses; They enter in at the windows, like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them, And the heavens tremble; The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining. 11 Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; For very great is his host; Yea, it is mighty, executing his word; The day of Jehovah is great, and very terrible; Who shall be able to bear it? 12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, Turn ye to me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning! 13 And rend your hearts, and not your garments, And turn to Jehovah your God, For he is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness, And repenteth of a threatened evil. 14 Who knoweth but he will turn and repent, And leave a blessing behind him, Even a flour-offering and a drink-offering for Jehovah your God. 15 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion; Appoint yea fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! 16 Gather the people; appoint a congregation; Assemble the elders; Gather the children and the sucklings! Let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber, And the bride from her nuptial bed! 17 Let the priests, the servants of Jehovah, Weep between the porch and the altar, And say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, And give not thine inheritance to reproach, And to be a by-word to the nations! Why should they say among the nations, Where is their God? 18 Then will Jehovah be zealous for his land, And have compassion on his people, 19 Yea, Jehovah will answer, and say to his people, Behold, I will send you corn, And new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; And I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. 20 I will remove far from you the northern host, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land; Its van toward the Eastern sea, And its rear toward the Western sea. And its scent shall come up, And its ill savor shall come up, Because it hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land, exult and rejoice, For Jehovah hath done great things! 22 Fear not, O ye beasts of the field, For the pastures of the desert spring up, For the tree beareth its fruit; The fig-tree and the vine yield their strength! 23 And, O ye sons of Zion, exult, And rejoice in Jehovah your God! For he giveth you the former rain in just measure, And causeth showers to come down upon you, Even the former rain, and the latter rain, as aforetime. 24 And the threshing-floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years Which the swarming-locust hath eaten, The licking-locust, the consuming-locust, and the gnawing-locusts, My great army, which I sent among you. 26 Ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, And praise the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt wondrously with you; And my people shall never be put to shame. 27 Ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, And that I am Jehovah, your God, and none else; And my people shall never be put to shame. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 Upon the men-servants also, and upon the handmaids, Will I pour out my spirit in those days. 30 And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth; Blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the day of Jehovah cometh, The great and the terrible day. Then whoever calleth on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; 32 For upon mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, shall be deliverance, As Jehovah hath spoken; And among the remnant, whom Jehovah shall call.
3 1 For behold, in those days and at that time, When I shall bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will assemble all the nations, And will bring them down it to the valley of Jehoshaphat, And there will I contend with them for my people and inheritance, Israel; Because they scattered them among the nations, And divided my land among themselves. 3 Yea, they cast lots for my people, And gave a boy for a harlot, And sold a damsel for wine to drink. 4 What have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, And all the borders of Philistia? Will ye retaliate on me? Or will ye do anything against me? Swiftly and speedily will I bring back your doings upon your own head. 5 Ye have taken my silver and my gold, And have carried into your palaces my precious, goodly things; 6 The sons also of Judah, and the sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the Grecians, That ye might remove them far from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, And I will return your injury upon your own head; 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a nation afar off; For Jehovah hath spoken it. 9 Proclaim ye this among the nations: “Prepare war! Stir up the mighty ones! Let all the warriors draw near; let them come up!” 10 Beat your ploughshares into swords, And your pruning-hooks into spears; Let the weak say, I am strong! 11 Assemble yourselves and come, all ye nations round about; Gather yourselves together! Thither, O Jehovah, bring down thy mighty ones! 12 Let the nations rise and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat! For there will I sit to judge all the nations around. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; Come and tread, for the wine-press is full; The vats overflow; For their wickedness is great! 14 The multitudes, the multitudes in the valley of judgment! For the day of Jehovah is near in the valley of judgment. 15 The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining. 16 Jehovah also will roar from Zion, And utter his voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and the earth shall shake. But Jehovah will be a refuge to his people! A strong-hold to the sons of Israel. 17 Then shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, Dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain; And Jerusalem shall be holy; Strangers shall pass through her no more. 18 In that day shall the mountains drop down new wine, And the hills shall flow with milk. And all the streams of Judah shall flow with water. A fountain shall come forth from the house of Jehovah, That shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a waste, And Edom a desolate wilderness, For their violence against the sons of Judah; For they shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 And I will avenge their blood, which I have not avenged, And Jehovah will dwell upon Zion.