Joel 1

Contemporary English Version

1 I am Joel the son of Pethuel.
And this is the message
    the Lord gave to me.

⁴ Swarm after swarm of locusts^[a]
has attacked our crops,
    eating everything in sight.
⁵ Sober up, you drunkards!
Cry long and loud;
    your wine supply is gone.
^6 (A) A powerful nation^[b]
with countless troops
    has invaded our land.
They have the teeth and jaws
    of powerful lions.
⁷ Our grapevines and fig trees
are stripped bare;
    only naked branches remain.

⁸ Grieve like a young woman
mourning for the man
    she was to marry.
⁹ Offerings of grain and wine
are no longer brought
    to the Lord's temple.
His servants, the priests,
    are deep in sorrow.
¹⁰ Barren fields mourn;
grain, grapes, and olives
    are scorched and shriveled.

¹¹ Mourn for our farms
    and our vineyards!
There's no wheat or barley
    growing in our fields.
¹² Grapevines have dried up
and so has every tree—
    figs and pomegranates,^[c]
    date palms and apples.
All happiness has faded away.

¹⁴ Tell the leaders and people
to come together
    at the temple.
Order them to go without eating^[e]
    and to pray sincerely.
^15 (B) We are in for trouble!
Soon the Lord All-Powerful
    will bring disaster.
¹⁶ Our food is already gone;
there's no more celebrating
    at the temple of our God.

¹⁷ Seeds dry up in the ground;^[f]
    no harvest is possible.
Our barns are in bad shape,
with no grain
    to store in them.
¹⁸ Our cattle wander aimlessly,
moaning for lack of pasture,
    and sheep are suffering.^[g]
19 I cry out to you, Lord.
Grasslands and forests are eaten
    by the scorching heat.
²⁰ Wild animals have no water
    because of you;
rivers and streams are dry,
    and pastures are parched.