¹ ^‡ The word of the LORD that came ^† to Joel ^† son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

² ^‡ Hear this, ^† you elders; ^†

listen, all who live in the land. ^†

Has anything like this ever happened in your days

or in the days of your ancestors? ^†

³ Tell it to your children, ^†

and let your children tell it to their children,

and their children to the next generation. ^†

⁴ ^‡ What the locust ^† swarm has left

the great locusts have eaten;

what the great locusts have left

the young locusts have eaten;

what the young locusts have left ^†

other locusts ^[1] have eaten. ^†

⁵ ^‡ Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

Wail, all you drinkers of wine; ^†

wail because of the new wine,

for it has been snatched ^† from your lips.

⁶ ^‡ A nation has invaded my land,

a mighty army without number; ^†

it has the teeth ^† of a lion,

the fangs of a lioness.

⁷ ^‡ It has laid waste ^† my vines

and ruined my fig trees. ^†

It has stripped off their bark

and thrown it away,

leaving their branches white.

⁸ ^‡ Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth ^†

grieving for the betrothed of her youth.

⁹ ^‡ Grain offerings and drink offerings ^†

are cut off from the house of the LORD .

The priests are in mourning, ^†

those who minister before the LORD .

¹⁰ ^‡ The fields are ruined,

the ground is dried up; ^†

the grain is destroyed,

the new wine ^† is dried up,

the olive oil fails. ^†

¹¹ Despair, you farmers, ^†

wail, you vine growers;

grieve for the wheat and the barley, ^†

because the harvest of the field is destroyed. ^†

¹² The vine is dried up

and the fig tree is withered; ^†

the pomegranate, ^† the palm and the apple ^[2] tree—

all the trees of the field—are dried up. ^†

Surely the people’s joy

is withered away.

A Call to Lamentation

¹³ ^‡ 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.

¹⁴ ^‡ Declare a holy fast; ^†

call a sacred assembly.

Summon the elders

and all who live in the land ^†

to the house of the LORD your God,

and cry out ^† to the LORD . ^†

¹⁵ ^‡ Alas for that ^† day!

For the day of the LORD ^† is near;

it will come like destruction from the Almighty. ^[3] ^†

¹⁶ Has not the food been cut off ^†

before our very eyes—

joy and gladness ^†

from the house of our God? ^†

¹⁷ The seeds are shriveled

beneath the clods. ^[4] ^†

The storehouses are in ruins,

the granaries have been broken down,

for the grain has dried up.

¹⁸ ^‡ How the cattle moan!

The herds mill about

because they have no pasture; ^†

even the flocks of sheep are suffering. ^†

¹⁹ ^‡ To you, LORD , I call, ^†

for fire ^† has devoured the pastures ^† in the wilderness

and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.

²⁰ Even the wild animals pant for you; ^†

the streams of water have dried up ^†

and fire has devoured the pastures ^† in the wilderness.

Joel 2

An Army of Locusts

¹ ^‡ Blow the trumpet ^† in Zion; ^†

sound the alarm on my holy hill. ^†

Let all who live in the land tremble,

for the day of the LORD ^† is coming.

It is close at hand ^† —

² ^‡ a day of darkness ^† and gloom, ^†

a day of clouds ^† and blackness. ^†

Like dawn spreading across the mountains

a large and mighty army ^† comes,

such as never was in ancient times ^†

nor ever will be in ages to come.

³ ^‡ Before them fire ^† devours,

behind them a flame blazes.

Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, ^†

behind them, a desert waste ^† —

nothing escapes them.

⁴ ^‡ They have the appearance of horses; ^†

they gallop along like cavalry.

⁵ ^‡ With a noise like that of chariots ^†

they leap over the mountaintops,

like a crackling fire ^† consuming stubble,

like a mighty army drawn up for battle.

⁶ ^‡ At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; ^†

every face turns pale. ^†

⁷ They charge like warriors; ^†

they scale walls like soldiers.

They all march in line, ^†

not swerving ^† from their course.

⁸ They do not jostle each other;

each marches straight ahead.

They plunge through defenses

without breaking ranks.

⁹ ^‡ They rush upon the city;

they run along the wall.

They climb into the houses; ^†

like thieves they enter through the windows. ^†

¹⁰ ^‡ Before them the earth shakes, ^†

the heavens tremble, ^†

the sun and moon are darkened, ^†

and the stars no longer shine. ^†

¹¹ ^‡ The LORD ^† thunders ^†

at the head of his army; ^†

his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; ^†

it is dreadful.

Who can endure it? ^†

Rend Your Heart

¹² ^‡ “Even now,” declares the LORD ,

“return ^† to me with all your heart, ^†

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

¹³ ^‡ Rend your heart ^†

and not your garments. ^†

Return ^† to the LORD your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate, ^†

slow to anger and abounding in love, ^†

and he relents from sending calamity. ^†

¹⁴ ^‡ Who knows? He may turn ^† and relent ^†

and leave behind a blessing ^† —

grain offerings and drink offerings ^†

for the LORD your God.

¹⁵ ^‡ Blow the trumpet ^† in Zion, ^†

declare a holy fast, ^†

call a sacred assembly. ^†

¹⁶ ^‡ Gather the people,

consecrate ^† the assembly;

bring together the elders, ^†

gather the children,

those nursing at the breast.

Let the bridegroom ^† leave his room

and the bride her chamber.

¹⁷ ^‡ Let the priests, who minister ^† before the LORD ,

weep ^† between the portico and the altar. ^†

Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD .

Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn, ^†

a byword ^† among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God? ^† ’ ”

The LORD ’s Answer

¹⁸ ^‡ Then the LORD was jealous ^† for his land

and took pity ^† on his people.

¹⁹ ^‡ The LORD replied ^[5] to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine ^† and olive oil, ^†

enough to satisfy you fully; ^†

never again will I make you

an object of scorn ^† to the nations.

²⁰ ^‡ “I will drive the northern horde ^† far from you,

pushing it into a parched and barren land;

its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea

and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.

And its stench ^† will go up;

its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!

²¹ ^‡ Do not be afraid, ^† land of Judah;

be glad and rejoice. ^†

Surely the LORD has done great things! ^†

²² ^‡ Do not be afraid, you wild animals,

for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. ^†

The trees are bearing their fruit;

the fig tree ^† and the vine ^† yield their riches. ^†

²³ ^‡ Be glad, people of Zion,

rejoice ^† in the LORD your God,

for he has given you the autumn rains

because he is faithful. ^†

He sends you abundant showers, ^†

both autumn ^† and spring rains, ^† as before.

²⁴ ^‡ The threshing floors will be filled with grain;

the vats will overflow ^† with new wine ^† and oil.

²⁵ ^‡ “I will repay you for the years the locusts ^† have eaten ^† —

the great locust and the young locust,

the other locusts and the locust swarm ^[6] —

my great army ^† that I sent among you.

²⁶ ^‡ You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, ^†

and you will praise ^† the name of the LORD your God,

who has worked wonders ^† for you;

never again will my people be shamed. ^†

²⁷ ^‡ Then you will know ^† that I am in Israel,

that I am the LORD ^† your God,

and that there is no other;

never again will my people be shamed. ^†

The Day of the LORD

²⁸ ^‡ “And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit ^† on all people. ^†

Your sons and daughters will prophesy, ^†

your old men will dream dreams, ^†

your young men will see visions.

²⁹ Even on my servants, ^† both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days. ^†

³⁰ ^‡ I will show wonders in the heavens ^†

and on the earth, ^†

blood and fire and billows of smoke.

³¹ ^‡ The sun will be turned to darkness ^†

and the moon to blood

before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD . ^†

³² ^‡ And everyone who calls

on the name of the LORD ^† will be saved; ^†

for on Mount Zion ^† and in Jerusalem

there will be deliverance, ^†

as the LORD has said,

even among the survivors ^†

whom the LORD calls. ^[7] ^†

Joel 3 ^[8]

¹ ^‡ “In those days and at that time,

when I restore the fortunes ^† of Judah ^† and Jerusalem,

² ^‡ I will gather ^† all nations

and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. ^[9] ^†

There I will put them on trial ^†

for what they did to my inheritance, my people Israel,

because they scattered ^† my people among the nations

and divided up my land.

³ ^‡ They cast lots ^† for my people

and traded boys for prostitutes;

they sold girls for wine ^† to drink.

⁴ ^‡ “Now what have you against me, Tyre and Sidon ^† and all you regions of Philistia? ^† Are you repaying me for something I have done? If you are paying me back, I will swiftly and speedily return on your own heads what you have done. ^† ⁵ For you took my silver and my gold and carried off my finest treasures to your temples. ^[10] ^† ⁶ ^‡ You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, ^† that you might send them far from their homeland.

⁷ “See, I am going to rouse them out of the places to which you sold them, ^† and I will return ^† on your own heads what you have done. ⁸ ^‡ I will sell your sons ^† and daughters to the people of Judah, ^† and they will sell them to the Sabeans, ^† a nation far away.” The LORD has spoken. ^†

⁹ ^‡ Proclaim this among the nations:

Prepare for war! ^†

Rouse the warriors! ^†

Let all the fighting men draw near and attack.

¹⁰ ^‡ Beat your plowshares into swords

and your pruning hooks ^† into spears. ^†

Let the weakling ^† say,

“I am strong!” ^†

¹¹ ^‡ Come quickly, all you nations from every side,

and assemble ^† there.

Bring down your warriors, ^† LORD !

¹² “Let the nations be roused;

let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, ^†

for there I will sit

to judge ^† all the nations on every side.

¹³ ^‡ Swing the sickle, ^†

for the harvest ^† is ripe.

Come, trample the grapes, ^†

for the winepress ^† is full

and the vats overflow—

so great is their wickedness!”

¹⁴ ^‡ Multitudes, ^† multitudes

in the valley ^† of decision!

For the day of the LORD ^† is near

in the valley of decision. ^†

¹⁵ ^‡ The sun and moon will be darkened,

and the stars no longer shine. ^†

¹⁶ ^‡ The LORD will roar ^† from Zion

and thunder from Jerusalem; ^†

the earth and the heavens will tremble. ^†

But the LORD will be a refuge ^† for his people,

a stronghold ^† for the people of Israel.

Blessings for God’s People

¹⁷ ^‡ “Then you will know ^† that I, the LORD your God, ^†

dwell in Zion, ^† my holy hill. ^†

Jerusalem will be holy; ^†

never again will foreigners invade her. ^†

¹⁸ ^‡ “In that day the mountains will drip new wine, ^†

and the hills will flow with milk; ^†

all the ravines of Judah will run with water. ^†

A fountain will flow out of the LORD ’s house ^†

and will water the valley of acacias. ^[11] ^†

¹⁹ ^‡ But Egypt ^† will be desolate,

Edom ^† a desert waste,

because of violence ^† done to the people of Judah,

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

²⁰ ^‡ Judah will be inhabited forever ^†

and Jerusalem through all generations.

²¹ ^‡ Shall I leave their innocent blood unavenged? ^†

No, I will not. ^† ”

Statue of a deity holding a vase with water flowing out (Iraq, 721–705 BC). In the ancient Near East, this type of statue was common and represented the life-giving quality of fresh water. Joel 3:18 describes the Lord’s house as flowing with water.

Kim Walton, courtesy of the Oriental Institute Museum

The LORD dwells in Zion! ^†