\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Joel}

{\MT Joel



\par }\ChapOne{1}{\SH Introduction
\par }
{\PP \par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}This is the
{\ND{Lord}}’s message that was given

\par }{\Q to Joel the son of Pethuel:


\par }{\SH A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord
\par }
{\Q \VS{2}Listen to this, you elders;

\par }{\Q pay attention, all inhabitants of the land.

\par }{\Q Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life

\par }{\Q or in the lifetime of your ancestors?


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Tell your children about it,

\par }{\Q have your children tell their children,

\par }{\Q and their children the following generation.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}What the
{\IT{gazam}}-locust left the
{\IT{‘arbeh}}-locust consumed,

\par }{\Q {\IT{what the ‘arbeh}}-locust
{\IT{left the yeleq}}-locust consumed,

\par }{\Q {\IT{and what the yeleq}}-locust
{\IT{left the hasil}}-locust consumed!


\par }{\Q \VS{5}Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!

\par }{\Q Wail, all you wine drinkers,

\par }{\Q because the sweet wine has been taken away from you.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}For a nation has invaded our land.

\par }{\Q There are so many of them they are too numerous to count.

\par }{\Q Their teeth are like those of a lion;

\par }{\Q they tear apart their prey like a lioness.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}They have destroyed our vines;

\par }{\Q they have turned our fig trees into mere splinters.

\par }{\Q They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown them aside;

\par }{\Q the twigs are stripped bare.


\par }{\SH A Call to Lament
\par }
{\Q \VS{8}Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth,

\par }{\Q lamenting the death of her husband-to-be.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

\par }{\Q to the temple of the
{\ND{Lord}} anymore.

\par }{\Q So the priests, those who serve the
{\ND{Lord}}, are in mourning.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}The crops of the fields have been destroyed.

\par }{\Q The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.

\par }{\Q The fresh wine has dried up;

\par }{\Q the olive oil languishes.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Be distressed, farmers;

\par }{\Q wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.

\par }{\Q For the harvest of the field has perished.


\par }{\Q \VS{12}The vine has dried up;

\par }{\Q the fig tree languishes –

\par }{\Q the pomegranate, date, and apple as well.

\par }{\Q In fact, all the trees of the field have dried up.

\par }{\Q Indeed, the joy of the people has dried up!


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Get dressed and lament, you priests!

\par }{\Q Wail, you who minister at the altar!

\par }{\Q Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,

\par }{\Q because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

\par }{\Q to the temple of your God anymore.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Announce a holy fast;

\par }{\Q proclaim a sacred assembly.

\par }{\Q Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land

\par }{\Q to the temple of the
{\ND{Lord}} your God,

\par }{\Q and cry out to the
{\ND{Lord}}.


\par }{\Q \VS{15}How awful that day will be!

\par }{\Q For the day of the
{\ND{Lord}} is near;

\par }{\Q it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Our food has been cut off right before our eyes!

\par }{\Q There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!


\par }{\Q \VS{17}The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels.

\par }{\Q Storehouses have been decimated

\par }{\Q and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}Listen to the cattle groan!

\par }{\Q The herds of livestock wander around in confusion

\par }{\Q because they have no pasture.

\par }{\Q Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}To you, O
{\ND{Lord}}, I call out for help,

\par }{\Q for fire has burned up the grassy pastures,

\par }{\Q flames have razed all the trees in the fields.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}Even the wild animals cry out to you;

\par }{\Q for the river beds have dried up;

\par }{\Q fire has destroyed the grassy pastures.




\par }\Chap{2}{\PP \par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}Blow the trumpet in Zion;

\par }{\Q sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!

\par }{\Q Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,

\par }{\Q for the day of the
{\ND{Lord}} is about to come.

\par }{\Q Indeed, it is near!


\par }{\Q \VS{2}It will be a day of dreadful darkness,

\par }{\Q a day of foreboding storm clouds,

\par }{\Q like blackness spread over the mountains.

\par }{\Q It is a huge and powerful army –

\par }{\Q there has never been anything like it ever before,

\par }{\Q and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!


\par }{\Q \VS{3}Like fire they devour everything in their path;

\par }{\Q a flame blazes behind them.

\par }{\Q The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them,

\par }{\Q but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –

\par }{\Q for nothing escapes them!


\par }{\Q \VS{4}They look like horses;

\par }{\Q they charge ahead like war horses.


\par }{\Q \VS{5}They sound like chariots rumbling over mountain tops,

\par }{\Q like the crackling of blazing fire consuming stubble,

\par }{\Q like the noise of a mighty army being drawn up for battle.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}People writhe in fear when they see them.

\par }{\Q All of their faces turn pale with fright.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}They charge like warriors;

\par }{\Q they scale walls like soldiers.

\par }{\Q Each one proceeds on his course;

\par }{\Q they do not alter their path.


\par }{\Q \VS{8}They do not jostle one another;

\par }{\Q each of them marches straight ahead.

\par }{\Q They burst through the city defenses

\par }{\Q and do not break ranks.


\par }{\Q \VS{9}They rush into the city;

\par }{\Q they scale its walls.

\par }{\Q They climb up into the houses;

\par }{\Q they go in through the windows like a thief.


\par }{\Q \VS{10}The earth quakes before them;

\par }{\Q the sky reverberates.

\par }{\Q The sun and the moon grow dark;

\par }{\Q the stars refuse to shine.


\par }{\Q \VS{11}The voice of the
{\ND{Lord}} thunders as he leads his army.

\par }{\Q Indeed, his warriors are innumerable;

\par }{\Q Surely his command is carried out!

\par }{\Q Yes, the day of the
{\ND{Lord}} is awesome

\par }{\Q and very terrifying – who can survive it?


\par }{\SH An Appeal for Repentance
\par }
{\Q \VS{12}“Yet even now,” the
{\ND{Lord}} says,

\par }{\Q “return to me with all your heart –

\par }{\Q with fasting, weeping, and mourning.

\par }{\Q Tear your hearts,

\par }{\Q not just your garments!”


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Return to the
{\ND{Lord}} your God,

\par }{\Q for he is merciful and compassionate,

\par }{\Q slow to anger and boundless in loyal love – often relenting from calamitous punishment.


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Who knows?

\par }{\Q Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve,

\par }{\Q and leave blessing in his wake –

\par }{\Q a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the
{\ND{Lord}} your God!


\par }{\Q \VS{15}Blow the trumpet in Zion.

\par }{\Q Announce a holy fast;

\par }{\Q proclaim a sacred assembly!


\par }{\Q \VS{16}Gather the people;

\par }{\Q sanctify an assembly!

\par }{\Q Gather the elders;

\par }{\Q gather the children and the nursing infants.

\par }{\Q Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom

\par }{\Q and the bride from her private quarters.


\par }{\Q \VS{17}Let the priests, those who serve the
{\ND{Lord}}, weep

\par }{\Q from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.

\par }{\Q Let them say, “Have pity, O
{\ND{Lord}}, on your people;

\par }{\Q please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,

\par }{\Q to become a proverb among the nations.

\par }{\Q Why should it be said among the peoples,

\par }{\Q “Where is their God?”


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{Lord}}’s Response
\par }
{\Q \VS{18}Then the
{\ND{Lord}} became zealous for his land;

\par }{\Q he had compassion on his people.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}The
{\ND{Lord}} responded to his people,

\par }{\Q “Look! I am about to restore your grain

\par }{\Q as well as fresh wine and olive oil.

\par }{\Q You will be fully satisfied.

\par }{\Q I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}I will remove the one from the north far from you.

\par }{\Q I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place.

\par }{\Q Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea,

\par }{\Q and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea.

\par }{\Q His stench will rise up as a foul smell.”

\par }{\Q Indeed, the
{\ND{Lord}} has accomplished great things.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}Do not fear, my land!

\par }{\Q Rejoice and be glad,

\par }{\Q because the
{\ND{Lord}} has accomplished great things!


\par }{\Q \VS{22}Do not fear, wild animals!

\par }{\Q For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass.

\par }{\Q Indeed, the trees bear their fruit;

\par }{\Q the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest.


\par }{\Q \VS{23}Citizens of Zion, rejoice!

\par }{\Q Be glad because of what the
{\ND{Lord}} your God has done!

\par }{\Q For he has given to you the early rains as vindication.

\par }{\Q He has sent to you the rains –

\par }{\Q both the early and the late rains as formerly.


\par }{\Q \VS{24}The threshing floors are full of grain;

\par }{\Q the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.


\par }{\Q \VS{25}I will make up for the years

\par }{\Q that
{\IT{the ‘arbeh}}-locust consumed your crops –

\par }{\Q the
{\IT{yeleq}}-locust, the
{\IT{hasil}}-locust, and the
{\IT{gazam}}-locust –

\par }{\Q my great army that I sent against you.


\par }{\Q \VS{26}You will have plenty to eat,

\par }{\Q and your hunger will be fully satisfied;

\par }{\Q you will praise the name of the
{\ND{Lord}} your God,

\par }{\Q who has acted wondrously in your behalf.

\par }{\Q My people will never again be put to shame.


\par }{\Q \VS{27}You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel.

\par }{\Q I am the
{\ND{Lord}} your God; there is no other.

\par }{\Q My people will never again be put to shame.


\par }{\SH An Outpouring of the Spirit
\par }
{\Q \VS{28}After all of this

\par }{\Q I will pour out my Spirit on all kinds of people.

\par }{\Q Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

\par }{\Q Your elderly will have revelatory dreams;

\par }{\Q your young men will see prophetic visions.


\par }{\Q \VS{29}Even on male and female servants

\par }{\Q I will pour out my Spirit in those days.


\par }{\Q \VS{30}I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth –

\par }{\Q blood, fire, and columns of smoke.


\par }{\Q \VS{31}The sunlight will be turned to darkness

\par }{\Q and the moon to the color of blood,

\par }{\Q before the day of the
{\ND{Lord}} comes –

\par }{\Q that great and terrible day!


\par }{\Q \VS{32}It will so happen that

\par }{\Q everyone who calls on the name of the
{\ND{Lord}} will be delivered.

\par }{\Q For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who survive,

\par }{\Q just as the
{\ND{Lord}} has promised;

\par }{\Q the remnant will be those whom the
{\ND{Lord}} will call.




\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \par }
{\Q \VerseOne{1}For look! In those days and at that time

\par }{\Q I will return the exiles to Judah and Jerusalem.


\par }{\Q \VS{2}Then I will gather all the nations,

\par }{\Q and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.

\par }{\Q I will enter into judgment against them there

\par }{\Q concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance,

\par }{\Q whom they scattered among the nations.

\par }{\Q They partitioned my land,


\par }{\Q \VS{3}and they cast lots for my people.

\par }{\Q They traded a boy for a prostitute;

\par }{\Q they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink.


\par }{\Q \VS{4}Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon?

\par }{\Q Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia?

\par }{\Q I will very quickly repay you for what you have done!


\par }{\Q \VS{5}For you took my silver and my gold

\par }{\Q and brought my precious valuables to your own palaces.


\par }{\Q \VS{6}You sold Judeans and Jerusalemites to the Greeks,

\par }{\Q removing them far from their own country.


\par }{\Q \VS{7}Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.

\par }{\Q I will repay you for what you have done!


\par }{\Q \VS{8}I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah.

\par }{\Q They will sell them to the Sabeans, a nation far away.

\par }{\Q Indeed, the
{\ND{Lord}} has spoken!


\par }{\SH Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat
\par }
{\Q \VS{9}Proclaim this among the nations:

\par }{\Q “Prepare for a holy war!

\par }{\Q Call out the warriors!

\par }{\Q Let all these fighting men approach and attack!


\par }{\Q \VS{10}Beat your plowshares into swords,

\par }{\Q and your pruning hooks into spears!

\par }{\Q Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’


\par }{\Q \VS{11}Lend your aid and come,

\par }{\Q all you surrounding nations,

\par }{\Q and gather yourselves to that place.”

\par }{\Q Bring down, O
{\ND{Lord}}, your warriors!


\par }{\Q \VS{12}Let the nations be roused and let them go up

\par }{\Q to the valley of Jehoshaphat,

\par }{\Q for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.


\par }{\Q \VS{13}Rush forth with the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

\par }{\Q Come, stomp the grapes, for the winepress is full!

\par }{\Q The vats overflow.

\par }{\Q Indeed, their evil is great!


\par }{\Q \VS{14}Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,

\par }{\Q for the day of the
{\ND{Lord}} is near in the valley of decision!


\par }{\Q \VS{15}The sun and moon are darkened;

\par }{\Q the stars withhold their brightness.


\par }{\Q \VS{16}The
{\ND{Lord}} roars from Zion;

\par }{\Q from Jerusalem his voice bellows out.

\par }{\Q The heavens and the earth shake.

\par }{\Q But the
{\ND{Lord}} is a refuge for his people;

\par }{\Q he is a stronghold for the citizens of Israel.


\par }{\SH The
{\ND{Lord}}’s Presence in Zion
\par }
{\Q \VS{17}You will be convinced that I the
{\ND{Lord}} am your God,

\par }{\Q dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

\par }{\Q Jerusalem will be holy –

\par }{\Q conquering armies will no longer pass through it.


\par }{\Q \VS{18}On that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,

\par }{\Q and the hills will flow with milk.

\par }{\Q All the dry stream beds of Judah will flow with water.

\par }{\Q A spring will flow out from the temple of the
{\ND{Lord}},

\par }{\Q watering the Valley of Acacia Trees.


\par }{\Q \VS{19}Egypt will be desolate

\par }{\Q and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,

\par }{\Q because of the violence they did to the people of Judah,

\par }{\Q in whose land they shed innocent blood.


\par }{\Q \VS{20}But Judah will reside securely forever,

\par }{\Q and Jerusalem will be secure from one generation to the next.


\par }{\Q \VS{21}I will avenge their blood which I had not previously acquitted.

\par }{\PP It is the
{\ND{Lord}} who dwells in Zion!


\par }