Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. New Living Translation Dress yourselves in burlap and weep, you priests! Wail, you who serve before the altar! Come, spend the night in burlap, you ministers of my God. For there is no grain or wine to offer at the Temple of your God. English Standard Version Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Berean Standard Bible Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Berean Literal Bible Gird yourselves and lament, O priests; wail, you ministering before the altar. Come, lodge in sackcloth, you ministering before my God, for it is withheld from the house of your⁺ God—the grain offering and the drink offering. King James Bible Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. New King James Version Gird yourselves and lament, you priests; Wail, you who minister before the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, You who minister to my God; For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. New American Standard Bible Put on sackcloth And mourn, you priests; Wail, you ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, You ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Have been withheld from the house of your God. NASB 1995 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. NASB 1977 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 libation Are withheld from the house of your God. Legacy Standard Bible 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. Amplified Bible Clothe yourselves with sackcloth And lament (cry out in grief), O priests; Wail, O ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing], O ministers of my God, For the grain offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God. Berean Annotated Bible Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God {Elohay}, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your⁺ God. Christian Standard Bible 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. Holman Christian Standard Bible 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. American Standard Version Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God. Contemporary English Version Mourn, you priests who serve at the altar of my God. Spend your days and nights wearing sackcloth. Offerings of grain and wine are no longer brought to the LORD's temple. English Revised Version Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests; howl, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. GOD'S WORD® Translation Put on your sackcloth and mourn, you priests. Cry loudly, you servants of the altar. Spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God. Grain offerings and wine offerings are withheld from your God's temple. Good News Translation Put on sackcloth and weep, you priests who serve at the altar! Go into the Temple and mourn all night! There is no grain or wine to offer your God. International Standard Version "Put on your mourning clothes, you priests; and cry aloud, you ministering servants at the altar! Come! Stay the night in mourner's clothes, you ministers of my God, because the grain offering and the wine offering is held back from the Temple of your God. NET Bible Get dressed and lament, you priests! Wail, you who minister at the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God, because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of your God anymore. New Heart English Bible Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests. Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God's house. Webster's Bible Translation Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat-offering and the drink-offering is withheld from the house of your God. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BiblePut on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. World English Bible Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionGird, and lament, you priests, "" Howl, you servants of the altar, "" Come in, lodge in sackcloth, servants of my God, "" For present and drink-offering have been withheld from the house of your God. Berean Literal Bible Gird yourselves and lament, O priests; wail, you ministering before the altar. Come, lodge in sackcloth, you ministering before my God, for it is withheld from the house of your⁺ God—the grain offering and the drink offering. Young's Literal Translation 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. Smith's Literal Translation Be ye girded and lament, ye priests: wail, ye, serving the altar: come in, pass the night in sackcloth, ye serving God: for the gift and the libation were withheld from the house of your God. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleGird yourselves, and lament, O ye priests, howl, ye ministers of the altars: go in, lie in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: because sacrifice and libation is cut off from the house of your God. Catholic Public Domain Version Priests, gird yourselves and lament. Ministers of the altars, wail. Enter, ministers of my God, lie in sackcloth. For sacrifice and libation have passed away from the house of your God. New American Bible Gird yourselves and lament, you priests! wail, ministers of the altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth, ministers of my God! For the grain offering and the libation are withheld from the house of your God. New Revised Standard Version Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleGird yourselves with sackcloth and lament, O you priests; howl, O you ministers of the altar; go in, spend the night in sackcloth, O you ministers of my God, because the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated Priests be clothed with sackcloth and mourn, and wail, Servants of the altar! Enter! Pass the night in sackcloth, Ministers of my God, because the fine flour offering and the drink offering is withheld from his house of your God OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests, Wail, ye ministers of the altar; Come, lie all night in sackcloth, Ye ministers of my God; For the meal-offering and the drink-offering is withholden From the house of your God. Brenton Septuagint Translation Gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament, ye priests: mourn, ye that serve at the altar: go in, sleep in sackcloths, ye that minister to God: for the meat-offering and drink-offering are withheld from the house of your God. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context A Call to Repentance13Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. 14Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.… Cross References Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; Malachi 2:1-2 “And now this decree is for you, O priests: / If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My name,” says the LORD of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already begun to curse them, because you are not taking it to heart. Lamentations 2:10 The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. Ezekiel 7:18 They will put on sackcloth, and terror will overwhelm them. Shame will cover all their faces, and all their heads will be shaved. wail, O ministers of the altar. Lamentations 1:4 The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish. Malachi 1:7-8 By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible. / When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present the lame and sick ones, is it not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the LORD of Hosts. Malachi 1:10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would no longer kindle useless fires on My altar! I take no pleasure in you,” says the LORD of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, 2 Samuel 12:16 David pleaded with God for the boy. He fasted and went into his house and spent the night lying in sackcloth on the ground. 1 Kings 21:27 When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted. He lay down in sackcloth and walked around meekly. Daniel 9:3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Hosea 9:4 They will not pour out wine offerings to the LORD, and their sacrifices will not please Him, but will be to them like the bread of mourners; all who eat will be defiled. For their bread will be for themselves; it will not enter the house of the LORD. Daniel 9:27 And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.” Lamentations 2:6-7 He has laid waste His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His place of meeting. The LORD has made Zion forget her appointed feasts and Sabbaths. In His fierce anger He has despised both king and priest. / The Lord has rejected His altar; He has abandoned His sanctuary; He has delivered the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the LORD as on the day of an appointed feast. Jeremiah 4:8 So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.” Amos 8:10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day. Isaiah 22:12 On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth. 1 Samuel 7:6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah. Treasury of Scripture Gird yourselves, and lament, you priests: howl, you ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God. Gird. Joel 1:8,9 Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth… Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Jeremiah 4:8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. ye ministers. 1 Corinthians 9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Hebrews 7:13,14 For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar… lie. 2 Samuel 12:16 David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth. 1 Kings 21:27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. Jonah 3:5-8 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them… ye ministers. Isaiah 61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Corinthians 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. for. Joel 1:9 The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn. Leviticus 2:8-10 And thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the LORD: and when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar… Numbers 29:6 Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD. Jump to Previous Altar Drink Drink-Offering Gird God's Grain House Howl Lie Meal Meal-Offering Meat Meat-Offering Ministers Mourn Night Offering Priests Sackcloth Wail Withheld Withholden YourselvesJump to Next Altar Drink Drink-Offering Gird God's Grain House Howl Lie Meal Meal-Offering Meat Meat-Offering Ministers Mourn Night Offering Priests Sackcloth Wail Withheld Withholden YourselvesJoel 1 1. Joel, declaring various judgments of God, exhorts to observe them,8. and to mourn. 14. He prescribes a solemn fast to deprecate those judgments. Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; In ancient Israel, sackcloth was a coarse material made from goat's hair, worn as a sign of mourning or repentance. The priests, as spiritual leaders, are called to express deep sorrow and repentance. This call to lamentation reflects the gravity of the situation, likely a severe locust plague or drought, which is seen as a divine judgment. The priests' role was to intercede for the people, and their mourning signifies a communal call to repentance. This practice is seen elsewhere in the Bible, such as in Jonah 3:5-6, where the people of Nineveh, including the king, put on sackcloth in response to Jonah's warning. wail, O ministers of the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God, because the grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. Persons / Places / Events 1. JoelThe prophet who authored the book, delivering God's message to the people of Judah. 2. Priests Religious leaders responsible for performing sacrifices and maintaining the temple rituals. 3. Ministers of the Altar Those who serve at the altar, assisting in the offerings and sacrifices. 4. House of God Refers to the temple in Jerusalem, the central place of worship for the Israelites. 5. Sackcloth A coarse material worn as a sign of mourning and repentance. Teaching Points Call to RepentanceThe wearing of sackcloth symbolizes a deep, heartfelt repentance. As believers, we are called to examine our lives and turn back to God with sincerity. Role of Spiritual Leaders Priests and ministers are called to lead by example in repentance and mourning. Today, spiritual leaders must guide their congregations in humility and truth. Impact of Sin on Worship The withholding of offerings signifies a disruption in worship due to sin. We must recognize how sin affects our relationship with God and seek restoration. Urgency of Lament The call to spend the night in sackcloth emphasizes the urgency and seriousness of the situation. We should not delay in addressing sin and seeking God's mercy. Community Responsibility While the priests are specifically addressed, the call to repentance is communal. Each member of the body of Christ has a role in seeking God's forgiveness and restoration. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Joel 1:13?2. How can we "mourn" and "wail" over sin in our lives today? 3. What does "put on sackcloth" symbolize, and how can we apply it now? 4. How does Joel 1:13 connect with repentance themes in other Scriptures? 5. Why is it important for leaders to lead in repentance and prayer? 6. How can we prioritize prayer and fasting in times of spiritual crisis? 7. What is the historical context of Joel 1:13 in the Bible? 8. How does Joel 1:13 reflect the theme of repentance in the Bible? 9. What theological significance does Joel 1:13 hold for believers today? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Joel 1? 11. Psalm 30:11–12: If mourning is truly turned to dancing, why do faithful believers throughout history often remain in prolonged suffering? 12. What is the meaning of "A Time to Mourn and Dance"? 13. What defines a solemn assembly? 14. Who is the author of the Book of Joel? What Does Joel 1:13 Mean Put on sackcloth and lamentThe first command is visual and immediate: dress for mourning. Sackcloth is rough, uncomfortable cloth that Israelite people wore when they were broken over sin or tragedy (Jonah 3:5–6). God is saying, “Show your grief openly.” • Repentance is never hidden; it affects how we look and live (Jeremiah 4:8). • True lament includes honest sorrow for sin, not mere sadness over consequences (James 4:9). O priests Those who lead worship are addressed first. If spiritual leaders are lukewarm, the people will be as well (Malachi 2:1–2). • Priests were mediators; today every believer is called to a priestly role of intercession (1 Peter 2:5). • Leadership carries accountability (Hebrews 5:1–4). wail, O ministers of the altar “Wail” is stronger than “lament”; it is a loud, public cry. Ministers who served at the altar should feel the deepest anguish when worship is disrupted (Joel 2:17). • God welcomes raw, honest cries (Lamentations 2:18–19). • Even in New-Covenant worship, we serve “at the altar” of Christ’s sacrifice (Hebrews 13:10). Come, spend the night in sackcloth The call moves from a moment of grief to an all-night vigil. This is not a quick fix but sustained repentance (1 Samuel 15:11). • Extended prayer in the night hours demonstrates earnest dependence (Luke 6:12). • Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes when mercy is received (Psalm 30:5). O ministers of my God God still claims these leaders as “my” servants. Their identity is rooted in Him, even while He rebukes them (2 Corinthians 5:18–20). • Grace calls us back to serve faithfully, not to run from conviction (1 Timothy 1:12). because the grain and drink offerings are withheld The tangible reason for mourning: the locust plague has stripped the land, so daily offerings can’t be brought (Joel 1:9). • Grain and drink offerings symbolized daily fellowship and thanksgiving (Leviticus 2:1–2; Numbers 28:7). • When sin or judgment disrupts worship, the loss is profound—God’s presence seems distant. from the house of your God The temple—“your God’s house”—stands empty. The place designed for joy is silent (Psalm 84:1–2). • God withholds blessing when His house is ignored or defiled (Haggai 1:9–11). • A famine of worship is worse than a famine of food (Amos 8:11). summary Joel 1:13 calls spiritual leaders to visible, continual, heartfelt repentance because national sin has dried up both the land and the worship that should rise from it. When offerings cease, the priests must lead the way back—owning the grief, confessing the sin, and seeking God until the house of the Lord is once again filled with the praise He deserves. (13) Gird yourselves, and lament.--The priests are exhorted to commence preparations for a national humiliation, beginning with themselves; for the visitation touches them in a vital part: they have no sacrifices to offer to the Lord.Verse 13. - Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God. The invitation, or rather exhortation, here is to something more than lamentation and mourning; for, however natural in the circumstances, affliction itself could not avert or remove the calamity. They are urged, therefore, to repentance as well as lamentation. They were to assume the outward signs of the inward grace: they were to gird themselves with sackcloth, the outward symbol of their inward sorrow; next they were to enter the temple or house of God; they were to spend the night there in the attitude and garb of mourners; night and day they were to bewail their sins with humble, penitent, and contrite hearts. The priests are the persons first addressed, and that not only because, in discharge of their priestly functions as ministers of Jehovah and ministering at the altar, they had been specially touched by the present distress; but also because of their official position they were to present an example to the people whose leaders they were and on whose behalf they ministered (comp. 1 Corinthians 9:13, "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?"). Kimchi gives a correct exposition of this verse: "Gird, that is to say, gird on sackcloth, and he explains afterwards, pass the night in sackcloth, because even by night ye shall not remove the sackcloth from off you; perhaps Jehovah will have mercy upon you. And he says, 'ministers of the altar,' and adds, 'ministers of my God,' because the ministry was as the altar to God; and he connects the ministry to God - to the altar, as wherein they minister to Jehovah." For the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. This is the reason assigned for the urgent call to repentance; and it is much the same with that in the beginning of the ninth verse.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Put on [sackcloth]חִגְר֨וּ (ḥiḡ·rū) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 2296: To gird, gird on, gird oneself and lament, וְסִפְד֜וּ (wə·sip̄·ḏū) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 5594: To tear the hair and beat the breasts, to lament, to wail O priests; הַכֹּהֲנִ֗ים (hak·kō·hă·nîm) Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 3548: Priest wail, הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ (hê·lî·lū) Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 3213: To howl, make a howling O ministers מְשָׁרְתֵ֣י (mə·šā·rə·ṯê) Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct Strong's 8334: To attend as a, menial, worshipper, to contribute to of the altar. מִזְבֵּ֔חַ (miz·bê·aḥ) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 4196: An altar Come, בֹּ֚אוּ (bō·’ū) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go spend the night לִ֣ינוּ (lî·nū) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural Strong's 3885: To stop, to stay permanently, to be obstinate in sackcloth, בַשַּׂקִּ֔ים (ḇaś·śaq·qîm) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural Strong's 8242: A mesh, coarse loose cloth, sacking, a bag O ministers מְשָׁרְתֵ֖י (mə·šā·rə·ṯê) Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine plural construct Strong's 8334: To attend as a, menial, worshipper, to contribute to of my God, אֱלֹהָ֑י (’ĕ·lō·hāy) Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common singular Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative because כִּ֥י (kî) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction the grain מִנְחָ֥ה (min·ḥāh) Noun - feminine singular Strong's 4503: A donation, tribute, a sacrificial offering and drink offerings וָנָֽסֶךְ׃ (wā·nā·seḵ) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 5262: A libation, a cast idol are withheld נִמְנַ֛ע (nim·na‘) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 4513: To debar, from benefit, injury from the house מִבֵּ֥ית (mib·bêṯ) Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct Strong's 1004: A house of your God. אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֖ם (’ĕ·lō·hê·ḵem) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative Links Joel 1:13 NIVJoel 1:13 NLT Joel 1:13 ESV Joel 1:13 NASB Joel 1:13 KJV Joel 1:13 BibleApps.com Joel 1:13 Biblia Paralela Joel 1:13 Chinese Bible Joel 1:13 French Bible Joel 1:13 Catholic Bible OT Prophets: Joel 1:13 Put on sackcloth and mourn you priests! 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