| New King James Version | NET Bible |
| 1The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. | 1This is the LORD's message that was given to Joel the son of Pethuel: |
| 2Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers? | 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, Let your children tell their children, And their children another generation. | 3Tell your children about it, have your children tell their children, and their children the following generation. |
| 4What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; What the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; And what the crawling locust left, the consuming 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! |
| 5Awake, you drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you drinkers of wine, Because of the new wine, For it has been cut off 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 come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion. | 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. |
| 7He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made 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. |
| 8Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the husband of her youth. | 8Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth, lamenting the death of her husband-to-be. |
| 9The grain offering and the drink offering Have been cut off from the house of the LORD; The priests mourn, who minister to the LORD. | 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 field is wasted, The land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine is dried up, The 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, For 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 vine has dried up, And the fig tree has withered; The pomegranate tree, The palm tree also, And the apple tree— All the trees of the field are withered; Surely joy has withered away from the sons of men. | 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! |
| 13Gird 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. | 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. |
| 14Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into 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. |
| 15Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction 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. |
| 16Is not the food 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 seed shrivels under the clods, Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, For the grain has withered. | 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 are restless, Because they have no pasture; Even the flocks of sheep 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. |
| 19O LORD, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field. | 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. |
| 20The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pastures. | 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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