The Word Am I

The Prophet Joel

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- Chapter 1 -

1
The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2
Listen to this, elders, and pay close attention, all inhabitants of the land. Did this ever happen in your days or in the days of your fathers?
3
Talk this over with your sons, and your sons with their sons, and their sons with another generation.
4
The locust has eaten what the caterpillar has left, and the beetle has eaten what the locust has left, and the mildew has eaten what the beetle has left.(a)
5
Rouse yourselves, you drunkards, and weep and wail, all you who delight in drinking wine; for it has been cut off from your mouth.
6
For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.
7
He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white.

A Call to Mourning

8
Lament like a betrothed virgin, wrapped in sackcloth at the loss of the husband of her youth.(b)
9
Sacrifice and libation have perished from the house of the Lord; the priests who are ministers of the Lord have mourned.(c)
10
The region has been depopulated, the soil has mourned. For the wheat has been devastated, the wine has been disfigured, the oil has languished.(d)
11
The farmers have been confounded, the vineyard workers have wailed over the crop and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.(e)
12
The vineyard is in ruin, and the fig tree has languished. The pomegranate tree, and the palm tree, and the fruit tree, and all the trees of the field have withered. For joy has been thrown into disorder before the sons of men.

A Call to Repentance

(Amos 5:4–15; Zephaniah 2:1–3; Luke 13:1–5)
13
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.
14
Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of your God. And cry out to the Lord:
15
“Ah, ah, ah, the day!” For the day of the Lord is near, and it will arrive, like a devastation, before the powerful.
16
Has not your nourishment perished from before your eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17
The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.
18
Why have the animals groaned, the herds of cattle bellowed? because there is no pasture for them. Yes, and even the flocks of sheep have been lost.
19
To you, O Lord, I will cry out, because fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the countryside.
20
Yes, and even the beasts of the field have gazed up at you, like the dry ground thirsting for rain, because the fountains of waters have dried up, and fire has devoured the beauty of the wilderness.

Footnotes

(a)1:4 That which the palmerworm has left, etc:Some understand this literally of the desolation of the land by these insects: others understand it of the different invasions of the Chaldeans, or other enemies.(Challoner)
(b)1:8 This verse has been translated more loosely because a strict translation would obscure the meaning of the verse. The virgin is actually a betrothed virgin; she has married a man, but she is still a virgin because, according to ancient custom, they have not moved in together right away. He died and so she is mourning in sackcloth.(Conte)
(c)1:9 The implication is that only those priests who are true ministers of the Lord have mourned at the loss of sacrifice and libation. The Catholic interpretation of ‘sacrifice and libation’ is the bread and wine of the Eucharist.(Conte)
(d)1:10 Again, the Catholic understanding of this verse and its meaning for the Church is that the wheat and wine refers to the Eucharist and the oil refers to the Sacraments that make use of oil (such as Ordination).(Conte)
(e)1:11 The vineyard workers (or vintners) wail over the fruit of the vine, because that is their work, and over the barley, because that is their food. In Biblical times, barley was the food of the working poor. The text implies that the ‘frumento’ is the crop of the ‘vinitores,’ so the use of ‘their’ in the translation is fitting.(Conte)
1
The LORD’s(a) word that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.
2
Hear this, you elders, and listen, all you inhabitants of the land! Has this ever happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
3
Tell your children about it, and have your children tell their children, and their children, another generation.
4
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten. What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten. What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.
6
For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
7
He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white.

A Call to Mourning

8
Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth!
9
The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the LORD’s house. The priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.
10
The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.
11
Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.
12
The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.

A Call to Repentance

(Amos 5:4–15; Zephaniah 2:1–3; Luke 13:1–5)
13
Put on sackcloth and mourn, you priests! Wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God,(b) for the meal offering and the drink offering are withheld from your God’s house.
14
Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD.
15
Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
16
Isn’t the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17
The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
18
How the animals groan! The herds of livestock are perplexed, because they have no pasture. Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19
LORD, I cry to you, for the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
20
Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, for the water brooks have dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Footnotes

(a)1:1 When rendered in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, “LORD” or “GOD” is the translation of God’s Proper Name.
(b)1:13 The Hebrew word rendered “God” is “אֱלֹהִ֑ים” (Elohim).
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