Study Desk

The word of the Lord that came^(a) to Joel son of Pethuel:

Hear this,^(b) you elders; listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days^(c) or in the days of your ancestors?

Tell your children about it,^(d) and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation.

What the devouring locust^(e) has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust^(f) has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust^(g) has eaten.

Wake up, you drunkards,^(h) 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,⁽ⁱ⁾ powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.^(j)

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,^(k) mourning for the husband of her youth.

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

The fields are destroyed;⁽ⁿ⁾ the land grieves; indeed, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up;^(o) and the olive oil fails.^(p)

Be ashamed, you farmers,^(q) wail, you vinedressers,^[a] over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.^(r)

The grapevine is dried up,^(s) and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate,^(t) the date palm,^(u) and the apple^(v)— all the trees of the orchard—have withered. Indeed, human joy has dried up.^(w)

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

Announce a sacred fast;^(ab) proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders^(ac) and all the residents of the land at the house of the Lord your God,^(ad) and cry out to the Lord .^(ae)

Woe because of that day!^(af) For the Day of the Lord is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty.^(ag)

Hasn't the food been cut off before our eyes,^(ah) joy and gladness^(ai) from the house of our God?

The seeds lie shriveled in their casings.^[b](aj) The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has withered away.

How the animals groan!^(ak) The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment.

I call to You, Lord ,^(al) for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness,^(am) and flames have devoured all the trees of the countryside.

Even the wild animals cry out to^[c] You,^(an) for the river beds are dried up,^(ao) and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.

Blow the horn in Zion;^(a) sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming;^(b) in fact, it is near—

a day of darkness and gloom,^(c) a day of clouds and dense overcast,^(d) like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people^(e) appears, such as never existed in ages past^(f) and never will again in all the generations to come.^(g)

A fire destroys^[a] in front of them,^(h) and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden,⁽ⁱ⁾ but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland;^(j) there is no escape from them.

Their appearance is like that of horses,^(k) and they gallop like war horses.

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

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

They attack as warriors attack; they scale walls as men of war do. Each goes on his own path,^(o) and they do not change their course.

They do not push each other; each man proceeds on his own path. They dodge the arrows, never stopping.

They storm the city; they run on the wall; they climb into the houses;^(p) they enter through the windows like thieves.^(q)

The earth quakes before them;^(r) the sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark,^(s) and the stars cease their shining.^(t)

The Lord raises His voice^(u) in the presence of His army.^(v) His camp is very large; Those who carry out His command are powerful.^(w) Indeed, the Day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful^(x)— who can endure it?^(y)

Even now— this is the Lord 's declaration— turn to Me with all your heart,^(z) with fasting, weeping, and mourning.^(aa)

Tear your hearts,^(ab) not just your clothes,^(ac) and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster.^(ad)

Who knows? He may turn and relent^(ae) and leave a blessing behind Him,^(af) so you can offer grain and wine to the Lord your God.^(ag)

Blow the horn in Zion!^(ah) Announce a sacred fast;^(ai) proclaim an assembly.

Gather the people; sanctify the congregation;^(aj) assemble the aged;^[b](ak) gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom,^(al) and the bride her honeymoon chamber.

Let the priests,^(am) the Lord 's ministers, weep between the portico and the altar.^(an) Let them say: "Have pity on Your people, Lord ,^(ao) and do not make Your inheritance a disgrace,^(ap) an object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?'"^(aq)