Joel 1
Legacy Standard Bible
The Locusts Bring Desolation
1 The (A)word of [a]Yahweh that came to (B)Joel, the son of Pethuel:
2 (C)Hear this, O (D)elders,
And give ear, all inhabitants of the land.
(E)Has anything like this happened in your days
Or in your fathers’ days?
3 (F)Recount about it to your sons,
And let your sons recount about it to their sons,
And their sons to the next generation.
4 What the (G)gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has consumed;
And what the (H)swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has consumed;
And what the creeping locust has left, the (I)stripping locust has consumed.
5 Awake, (J)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is (K)cut off from your mouth.
6 For a (L)nation has come up against my land,
Mighty and without number;
(M)Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has (N)made my vine a desolation
And my fig tree [b]splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast them away;
Their branches have become white.
8 (O)Wail like a virgin (P)girded with sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.
9 The (Q)grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of Yahweh.
The (R)priests mourn,
The ministers of Yahweh.
10 The field is (S)destroyed;
(T)The land mourns,
For the grain is destroyed,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil [c]fails.
11 [d](U)Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley,
Because the (V)harvest of the field perishes.
12 The (W)vine dries up,
And the fig tree [e]fails;
The (X)pomegranate, the (Y)palm also, and the [f](Z)apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, (AA)rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
The Day of Yahweh Is Near
13 (AB)Gird yourselves with sackcloth
And lament, O priests;
(AC)Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, (AD)spend the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (AE)Set apart a fast as holy,
Call for a (AF)solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of Yahweh your God,
And (AG)cry out to Yahweh.
15 (AH)Alas for the day!
For the (AI)day of Yahweh is near,
And it will come as (AJ)destruction from the [g]Almighty.
16 Has not (AK)food been cut off before our eyes,
Gladness and (AL)joy from the house of our God?
17 The [h](AM)seeds shrivel under their [i]clods;
The storehouses are desolate;
The barns are pulled down,
For the grain is dried up.
18 How (AN)the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle wander aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep [j]suffer.
19 (AO)To You, O Yahweh, I cry;
For (AP)fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness,
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
20 Even the beasts of the field [k](AQ)pant for You;
For the (AR)water brooks are dried up,
And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
Footnotes
- Joel 1:1 The personal covenant name of God, a form of I AM WHO I AM, cf. Ex 3:14-15
- Joel 1:7 Or a stump
- Joel 1:10 Lit wastes away
- Joel 1:11 Or The farmers are ashamed, The vinedressers wail
- Joel 1:12 Lit wastes away
- Joel 1:12 Or apricot
- Joel 1:15 Heb Shaddai
- Joel 1:17 Or dried figs
- Joel 1:17 Or shovels
- Joel 1:18 Lit bear punishment
- Joel 1:20 Lit long for
Joel 1
New King James Version
The Locust Plague in Judah
1 The word of the Lord that came to (A)Joel the son of Pethuel.
The Land Laid Waste(B)
2 Hear this, you elders,
And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land!
(C)Has anything like this happened in your days,
Or even in the days of your fathers?
3 (D)Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.
4 (E)What the chewing [a]locust left, the (F)swarming locust has eaten;
What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten;
And what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you (G)drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you drinkers of wine,
Because of the new wine,
(H)For it has been cut off from your mouth.
6 For (I)a nation has come up against My land,
Strong, and without number;
(J)His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And he has the fangs of a [b]fierce lion.
7 He has (K)laid waste My vine,
And [c]ruined My fig tree;
He has stripped it bare and thrown it away;
Its branches are made white.
8 (L)Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For (M)the husband of her youth.
9 (N)The grain offering and the drink offering
Have been cut off from the house of the Lord;
The priests (O)mourn, who minister to the Lord.
10 The field is wasted,
(P)The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
(Q)The new wine is dried up,
The oil fails.
11 (R)Be ashamed, you farmers,
Wail, you vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 (S)The vine has dried up,
And the fig tree has withered;
The pomegranate tree,
The palm tree also,
And the apple tree—
All the trees of the field are withered;
Surely (T)joy has withered away from the sons of men.
Mourning for the Land
13 (U)Gird yourselves and lament, you priests;
Wail, you who minister before the altar;
Come, lie all night in sackcloth,
You who minister to my God;
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (V)Consecrate a fast,
Call (W)a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And (X)all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord.
15 (Y)Alas for the day!
For (Z)the day of the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
16 Is not the food (AA)cut off before our eyes,
(AB)Joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17 The seed shrivels under the clods,
Storehouses are in shambles;
Barns are broken down,
For the grain has withered.
18 How (AC)the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are restless,
Because they have no pasture;
Even the flocks of sheep [d]suffer punishment.
Joel 1
English Standard Version
1 The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
An Invasion of Locusts
2 (A)Hear this, (B)you elders;
give ear, (C)all inhabitants of the land!
(D)Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?
3 (E)Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.
4 What (F)the cutting locust left,
(G)the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
(H)the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
(I)the destroying locust has eaten.
5 Awake, you drunkards, and weep,
and (J)wail, all you drinkers of wine,
because of (K)the sweet wine,
for it is cut off from your mouth.
6 For (L)a nation has come up against my land,
(M)powerful and beyond number;
(N)its teeth are lions' teeth,
and it has the fangs of a lioness.
7 It has laid waste my vine
and splintered my (O)fig tree;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
their branches are made white.
8 Lament like a virgin[a] (P)wearing sackcloth
for the bridegroom of her youth.
9 (Q)The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
from the house of the Lord.
(R)The priests mourn,
(S)the ministers of the Lord.
10 The fields are destroyed,
(T)the ground mourns,
because (U)the grain is destroyed,
(V)the wine dries up,
the oil languishes.
11 (W)Be ashamed,[b] O tillers of the soil;
wail, O vinedressers,
for the wheat and the barley,
(X)because the harvest of the field has perished.
12 The vine dries up;
(Y)the fig tree languishes.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple,
all the trees of the field are dried up,
and (Z)gladness dries up
from the children of man.
A Call to Repentance
13 (AA)Put on sackcloth and lament, (AB)O priests;
(AC)wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, (AD)pass the night in sackcloth,
(AE)O ministers of my God!
(AF)Because grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
14 (AG)Consecrate a fast;
(AH)call a solemn assembly.
Gather (AI)the elders
and (AJ)all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15 Alas for the day!
(AK)For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty[c] it comes.
16 Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
(AL)joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17 (AM)The seed shrivels under the clods;[d]
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because (AN)the grain has dried up.
18 How (AO)the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.[e]
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
