The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel:

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you wine drinkers, because of the sweet wine, for it has been taken from your mouth.

For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.

It has devastated my grapevine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white.

Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth, mourning for the husband of her youth.

Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the Lord; the priests, who are ministers of the Lord, mourn.

The fields are destroyed; the land grieves; indeed, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up; and the fresh oil fails.

Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.

The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple— all the trees of the orchard—have withered. Indeed, human joy has dried up.

Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Announce a sacred fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.

The Day of the Lord

Woe because of that day! For the day of the Lord is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty.

Hasn’t the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep and goats suffer punishment.

I call to you, Lord, for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have devoured all the trees of the orchard.

Even the wild animals cry out to you, for the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; in fact, it is near—

A fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame blazes. The land in front of them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them.

They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war.

Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale.

God’s Call for Repentance

Even now— this is the Lord’s declaration— turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.

Blow the ram’s horn in Zion! Announce a sacred fast; proclaim a solemn assembly.

God’s Response to His People

Then the Lord became jealous for his land and spared his people.

The Lord answered his people: Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine, and fresh oil. You will be satiated with them, and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations.