| Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: | 1This is the LORD's message that was given to Joel the son of Pethuel: |
| 2Hear this, you elders; listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? | 2Listen to this, you elders; pay attention, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life or in the lifetime of your ancestors? |
| 3Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. | 3Tell your children about it, have your children tell their children, and their children the following generation. |
| 4What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten. | 4What the gazam -locust left the 'arbeh -locust consumed, what the 'arbeh -locust left the yeleq -locust consumed, and what the yeleq -locust left the hasil -locust consumed! |
| 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you wine drinkers, because of the sweet wine, for it has been taken from your mouth. | 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine drinkers, because the sweet wine has been taken away from you. |
| 6For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness. | 6For a nation has invaded our land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. Their teeth are like those of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness. |
| 7It has devastated my grapevine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white. | 7They have destroyed our vines; they have turned our fig trees into mere splinters. They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown them aside; the twigs are stripped bare. |
| 8Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth, mourning for the husband of her youth. | 8Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband-to-be. |
| 9Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, who are ministers of the LORD, mourn. | 9No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings to the temple of the LORD anymore. So the priests, those who serve the LORD, are in mourning. |
| 10The fields are destroyed; the land grieves; indeed, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up; and the fresh oil fails. | 10The crops of the fields have been destroyed. The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished. The fresh wine has dried up; the olive oil languishes. |
| 11Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. | 11Be distressed, farmers; wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley. For the harvest of the field has perished. |
| 12The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple--all the trees of the orchard--have withered. Indeed, human joy has dried up. | 12The vine has dried up; the fig tree languishes--the pomegranate, date, and apple as well. In fact, all the trees of the field have dried up. Indeed, the joy of the people has dried up! |
| 13Dress 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. | 13Get 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. |
| 14Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. | 14Announce a holy fast; proclaim a sacred assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the temple of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. |
| 15Woe because of that day! For the day of the LORD is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty. | 15How awful that day will be! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer. |
| 16Hasn't the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? | 16Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God! |
| 17The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has withered away. | 17The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels. Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up. |
| 18How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep and goats suffer punishment. | 18Listen to the cattle groan! The herds of livestock wander around in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. |
| 19I call to you, LORD, for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have devoured all the trees of the orchard. | 19To you, O LORD, I call out for help, for fire has burned up the grassy pastures, flames have razed all the trees in the fields. |
| 20Even the wild animals cry out to you, for the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. | 20Even the wild animals cry out to you; for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the grassy pastures. |
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