Font Size
Joel 1
Revised Geneva Translation
Joel 1
Revised Geneva Translation
1 The Word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 Hear this, O elders! And listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has there been such a thing in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3 Tell your children about it. And let your children tell it to their children, and their children to another generation.
4 That which was left by the gnawing locust the swarming locust has eaten. And the leftovers of the swarming locust the creeping locust has eaten. And the leftovers of the creeping locust the consuming locust has eaten.
5 Awake you drunkards! And weep and howl all you drinkers of wine because of the new wine. For it shall be pulled from your mouth.
6 “Yea, a nation comes upon My land, mighty and without number, whose teeth are like the teeth of a lion. And he has the jaws of a great lion.
7 “He has laid waste My vine and splinters the bark of My fig tree. He makes it bare and casts it down. Its branches are made white.”
8 Mourn like a virgin, girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
9 The Meat Offering and the Drink Offering are cut off from the House of the LORD. The priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.
10 The field is wasted. The land mourns. For the grain is destroyed. The new wine has dried up, and the oil has decayed.
11 Be ashamed, O farmers! Howl, O you vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished!
12 The vine has dried up. And the fig tree has decayed. The pomegranate tree and the palm tree and the apple tree, all the trees of the field, are withered. Surely, the joy has withered away from the sons of men.”
13 Gird yourselves and lament, you priests. Howl, you ministers of the Altar! Come! Lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God. For the Meat Offering and the Drink Offering are taken away from the House of your God.
14 Sanctify yourself a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, into the House of the LORD your God, and cry to the LORD,
15 “Alas!” For the day, for the day of the LORD is at hand! And it comes as a destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes — joy and gladness from the House of our God?
17 The seed is rotten under their clods. The storehouses are destroyed. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18 How the beasts mourn! The herds of cattle pine away, because they have no pasture. And the flocks of sheep are destroyed.
19 O LORD! To You will I cry! For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness. And the flame has burnt up all the trees of the field.
20 The beasts of the field also cry to You; for the river of waters have dried up. And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Joel 1
New International Version
Joel 1
New International Version
1 The word of the Lord that came(A) to Joel(B) son of Pethuel.
An Invasion of Locusts
2 Hear this,(C) you elders;(D)
listen, all who live in the land.(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your ancestors?(F)
3 Tell it to your children,(G)
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.(H)
4 What the locust(I) swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left(J)
other locusts[a] have eaten.(K)
5 Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;(L)
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched(M) from your lips.
6 A nation has invaded my land,
a mighty army without number;(N)
it has the teeth(O) of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste(P) my vines
and ruined my fig trees.(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
8 Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth(R)
grieving for the betrothed of her youth.
9 Grain offerings and drink offerings(S)
are cut off from the house of the Lord.
The priests are in mourning,(T)
those who minister before the Lord.
10 The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;(U)
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine(V) is dried up,
the olive oil fails.(W)
11 Despair, you farmers,(X)
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,(Y)
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.(Z)
12 The vine is dried up
and the fig tree is withered;(AA)
the pomegranate,(AB) the palm and the apple[b] tree—
all the trees of the field—are dried up.(AC)
Surely the people’s joy
is withered away.
A Call to Lamentation
13 Put on sackcloth,(AD) you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister(AE) before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings(AF)
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast;(AG)
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land(AH)
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out(AI) to the Lord.(AJ)
15 Alas for that(AK) day!
For the day of the Lord(AL) is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.[c](AM)
16 Has not the food been cut off(AN)
before our very eyes—
joy and gladness(AO)
from the house of our God?(AP)
17 The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods.[d](AQ)
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18 How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;(AR)
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.(AS)
Revised Geneva Translation (RGT)
© 2019, 2024 by Five Talents Audio. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.