11 The word of the Lord that came to Joel , the son of Pethuel : 2 Hear this , O elders , And listen , all inhabitants of the land . Has anything like this happened in your days Or in your fathers' days ? 3 Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons , And their sons the next generation . 4 What the gnawing locust has left , the swarming locust has eaten ; And what the swarming locust has left , the creeping locust has eaten ; And what the creeping locust has left , the stripping locust has eaten . 5 Awake , drunkards , and weep ; And wail , all you wine drinkers , On account of the sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth . 6 For a nation has [1]invaded my land , Mighty and without number ; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion , And it has the fangs of a lioness . 7 It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree [2]splinters . It has stripped them bare and cast them away ; Their branches have become white .
8 Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth . 9 The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of the Lord . The priests mourn , The ministers of the Lord . 10 The field is ruined , The land mourns ; For the grain is ruined , The new wine dries up, Fresh oil [3]fails . 11 [4] Be ashamed , O farmers , Wail , O vinedressers , For the wheat and the barley ; Because the harvest of the field is destroyed . 12 The vine dries up And the fig tree [5]fails ; The pomegranate , the palm also , and the [6] apple tree , All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed , rejoicing dries up From the sons of men . 13 Gird yourselves with sackcloth And lament , O priests ; Wail , O ministers of the altar ! Come , 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 Consecrate a fast , Proclaim a solemn assembly ; Gather the elders And 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 ! For the day of the Lord is near , And it will come as destruction from the [7]Almighty . 16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes , Gladness and joy from the house of our God ? 17 The [8] seeds shrivel under their [9]clods ; The storehouses are desolate , The barns are torn down , For the grain is dried up. 18 How the beasts groan ! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep [10]suffer . 19 To You, O Lord , I cry ; For fire 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 [11] pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness .
21 Blow a trumpet in Zion , And sound an alarm on My holy mountain ! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble , For the day of the Lord is coming ; Surely it is near , 2 A day of darkness and gloom , A day of clouds and thick darkness . As the dawn is spread over the mountains , So there is a great and mighty people ; There has never e e been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations . 3 A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns . The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses ; And like war horses , so they run . 5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains , Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble , Like a mighty people arranged for battle . 6 Before e them the people are in anguish ; All faces turn pale . 7 They run like mighty men , They climb the wall like soldiers e ; And they each march in line , Nor do they deviate from their paths . 8 They do not crowd each other , They march everyone in his path ; When they burst through the defenses , They do not break ranks . 9 They rush on the city , They run on the wall ; They climb into the houses , They enter through the windows like a thief . 10 Before them the earth quakes , The heavens tremble , The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness . 11 The Lord utters His voice before His army ; Surely His camp is very great , For strong is he who carries out His word . The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome , And who can endure it?
12 "Yet even now ," declares the Lord , " Return to Me with all your heart , And with fasting , weeping and mourning ; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments ." Now return to the Lord your God , For He is gracious and compassionate , Slow to anger , abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil . 14 Who knows whether He will not turn and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a drink offering For the Lord your God ? 15 Blow a trumpet in Zion , Consecrate a fast , proclaim a solemn assembly , 16 Gather the people , sanctify the congregation , Assemble the elders , Gather the children and the nursing infants . Let the bridegroom come out of his room And the bride out of her bridal chamber . 17 Let the priests , the Lord'S ministers , Weep between the porch and the altar , And let them say , " Spare Your people , O Lord , And do not make Your inheritance a reproach , A byword among the nations . Why should they among the peoples say , ' Where is their God ?' "
18 Then the Lord will be zealous for His land And will have pity on His people . 19 The Lord will answer and say to His people , "Behold , I am going to send you grain , new wine and oil , And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations . 20 "But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land , And its vanguard into the eastern sea , And its rear guard into the western sea . And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things ." 21 Do not fear , O land , rejoice and be glad , For the Lord has done great things . 22 Do not fear , beasts of the field , For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green , For the tree has borne its fruit , The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full . 23 So rejoice , O sons of Zion , And be glad in the Lord your God ; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication . And He has poured down for you the rain , The early and latter rain as before . 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain , And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil . 25 "Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten , The creeping locust , the stripping locust and the gnawing locust , My great army which I sent among you. 26 "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the name of the Lord your God , Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people will never e be put to shame . 27 "Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel , And that I am the Lord your God , And there is no other ; And My people will never e be put to shame .
28 " It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind ; And your sons and daughters will prophesy , Your old men will dream dreams , Your young men will see visions . 29 "Even on the male and female servants e I will pour out My Spirit in those days . 30 "I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth , Blood , fire and columns of smoke . 31 "The sun will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes . 32 "And it will come about that whoever e calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered ; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape , As the Lord has said , Even among the survivors whom the Lord calls .
31 "For behold , in those days and at that time , When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem , 2 I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat . Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance , Israel , Whom they have scattered among the nations ; And they have divided up My land . 3 "They have also cast lots for My people , Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink . 4 "Moreover , what are you to Me, O Tyre , Sidon and all the regions of Philistia ? Are you rendering Me a recompense ? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head . 5 "Since you have taken My silver and My gold , brought My precious treasures to your temples , 6 and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory , 7 behold , I am going to arouse them from the place where e you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head . 8 "Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah , and they will sell them to the Sabeans , to a distant nation ," for the Lord has spoken .
9 Proclaim this among the nations : Prepare a war ; rouse the mighty men ! Let all the soldiers e draw near , let them come up! 10 Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears ; Let the weak say , "I am a mighty man ." 11 Hasten and come , all you surrounding nations , And gather yourselves there . Bring down , O Lord , Your mighty ones . 12 Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat , For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations . 13 Put in the sickle , for the harvest is ripe . Come , tread , for the wine press is full ; The vats overflow , for their wickedness is great . 14 Multitudes , multitudes in the valley of decision ! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision . 15 The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness .
16 The Lord roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem , And the heavens and the earth tremble . But the Lord is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel . 17 Then you will know that I am the Lord your God , Dwelling in Zion , My holy mountain . So Jerusalem will be holy , And strangers will pass through it no more .
18 And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine , And the hills will flow with milk , And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water ; And a spring will go out from the house of the Lord To water the valley of Shittim . 19 Egypt will become a waste , And Edom will become a desolate wilderness , Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah , In whose land they have shed innocent blood . 20 But Judah will be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations . 21 And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged , For the Lord dwells in Zion .
