| NET Bible | Berean Study Bible |
| 1This is the LORD's message that was given to Joel the son of Pethuel: | 1This is the word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: |
| 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? | 2Hear this, O elders; and give ear, all who dwell in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your fathers? |
| 3Tell your children about it, have your children tell their children, and their children the following generation. | 3Tell it to your children; let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. |
| 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! | 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. |
| 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you wine drinkers, because the sweet wine has been taken away from you. | 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth. |
| 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. | 6For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. |
| 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. | 7It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white. |
| 8Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband-to-be. | 8Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth, grieving for the husband of her youth. |
| 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. | 9Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD. |
| 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. | 10The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. |
| 11Be distressed, farmers; wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley. For the harvest of the field has perished. | 11Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. |
| 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! | 12The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up. |
| 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. | 13Put 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 15How awful that day will be! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer. | 15Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty. |
| 16Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God! | 16Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God? |
| 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. | 17The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away. |
| 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. | 18How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering. |
| 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. | 19To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field. |
| 20Even the wild animals cry out to you; for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the grassy pastures. | 20Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures. |
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