The Devastation of the Land by Locusts

11 A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Joel, son of Pethuel: 2 Hear this, ye aged ones, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, Hath this been in your days? Or in the days of your fathers? 3 Concerning it to your sons talk ye, And your sons to their sons, And their sons to another generation. 4 What is left of the palmer-worm, eaten hath the locust, And what is left of the locust, Eaten hath the cankerworm, And what is left of the cankerworm, Eaten hath the caterpillar. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it hath been cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth 'are' the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. 7 It hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches.

8 Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth. 9 Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah. 10 Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil. 11 Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field. 12 The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons of men. 13 Gird, and lament, ye priests, Howl, ye ministrants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, ministrants of my God, For withheld from the house of your God hath been present and libation.

14 Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders—all the inhabitants of the land, 'Into' the house of Jehovah your God, 15 And cry unto Jehovah, 'Alas for the day! For near 'is' a day of Jehovah, And as destruction from the mighty it cometh. 16 Is not before our eyes food cut off? From the house of our God joy and rejoicing? 17 Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn. 18 How have cattle sighed! Perplexed have been droves of oxen, For there is no pasture for them, Also droves of sheep have been desolated. 19 Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I do call, For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness, And a flame hath set on fire all trees of the field. 20 Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!'

The LORD's Judgment on the Nations

31 For lo, in those days, and in that time, When I turn back 'to' the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 Then I have gathered all the nations, And caused them to go down unto the valley of Jehoshaphat, And I have been judged with them there, Concerning My people and Mine inheritance—Israel, Whom they scattered among nations, And My land they have apportioned. 3 And for My people they do cast a lot, And they give the young man for an harlot, And the young woman have sold for wine, That they may drink. 4 And also, what 'are' ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your head. 5 In that My silver and My gold ye took, And My desirable things that are good, Ye have brought in to your temples. 6 And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border. 7 Lo, I am stirring them up out of the place Whither ye have sold them, And I have turned back your recompence on your head, 8 And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Shabeans, Unto a nation far off, for Jehovah hath spoken.

9 Proclaim ye this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come nigh, come up, let all the men of war. 10 Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, 'I 'am' mighty.' 11 Haste, and come in, all ye nations round, And be gathered together, Thither cause to come down, O Jehovah, Thy mighty ones. 12 Wake and come up let the nations unto the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I sit to judge all the nations around. 13 Send ye forth a sickle, For ripened hath harvest, Come in, come down, for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great 'is' their wickedness. 14 Multitudes, multitudes 'are' in the valley of decision, For near 'is' the day of Jehovah in the valley of decision. 15 Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.

The Deliverance of Judah

16 And Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And shaken have the heavens and earth, And Jehovah 'is' a refuge to his people, And a stronghold to sons of Israel. 17 And ye have known that I 'am' Jehovah your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain, And Jerusalem hath been holy, And strangers do not pass over into it again.

18 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Drop down do the mountains juice, And the hills do flow 'with' milk, And all streams of Judah do go 'with' water, And a fountain from the house of Jehovah goeth forth, And hath watered the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt a desolation becometh, And Edom a desolation, a wilderness, becometh, For violence 'to' sons of Judah, Whose innocent blood they shed in their land. 20 And Judah to the age doth dwell, And Jerusalem to generation and generation. 21 And I have declared their blood innocent, 'That' I did not declare innocent, And Jehovah is dwelling in Zion!