1 The aword of the Lord that came to bJoel, the son of Pethuel: 2 aHear this, O belders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. cHas anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers' days? 3 aTell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the next generation. 4 What the agnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the bswarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the cstripping locust has eaten. 5 Awake, adrunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the sweet wine That is bcut off from your mouth. 6 For a anation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; bIts teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness. 7 It has amade my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white. 8 aWail like a virgin bgirded with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth. 9 The agrain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of the Lord. The bpriests mourn, The ministers of the Lord. 10 The field is aruined, bThe land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine dries up, Fresh oil fails. 11 aBe ashamed, O farmers, Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because the bharvest of the field is destroyed. 12 The avine dries up And the fig tree fails; The bpomegranate, the cpalm also, and the dapple tree, All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, erejoicing dries up From the sons of men. 13 aGird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; bWail, O ministers of the altar! Come, cspend 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 aConsecrate a fast, Proclaim a bsolemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of the Lord your God, And ccry out to the Lord. 15 aAlas for the day! For the bday of the Lord is near, And it will come as cdestruction from the Almighty. 16 Has not afood been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and bjoy from the house of our God? 17 The aseeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up. 18 How athe beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer. 19 aTo You, O Lord, I cry; For bfire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field. 20 Even the beasts of the field apant for You; For the bwater brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.