| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. | 1The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel: |
| 2Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? | 2Hear this, you elders; listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? |
| 3Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. | 3Tell your children about it, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. |
| 4That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. | 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. |
| 5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. | 5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you wine drinkers, because of the sweet wine, for it has been taken from your mouth. |
| 6For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. | 6For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness. |
| 7He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. | 7It has devastated My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white. |
| 8Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. | 8Grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth, mourning for the husband of her youth. |
| 9The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD'S ministers, mourn. | 9Grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, who are ministers of the LORD, mourn. |
| 10The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. | 10The fields are destroyed; the land grieves; indeed, the grain is destroyed; the new wine is dried up; and the olive oil fails. |
| 11Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. | 11Be ashamed, you farmers, wail, you vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. |
| 12The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. | 12The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple-- all the trees of the orchard--have withered. Indeed, human joy has dried up. |
| 13Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. | 13Dress in sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come and spend the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God, because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. |
| 14Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, | 14Announce a sacred fast; proclaim an assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. |
| 15Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. | 15Woe because of that day! For the Day of the LORD is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty. |
| 16Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? | 16Hasn't the food been cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? |
| 17The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. | 17The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has withered away. |
| 18How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. | 18How the animals groan! The herds of cattle wander in confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. |
| 19O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. | 19I call to You, LORD, for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have devoured all the trees of the countryside. |
| 20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. | 20Even the wild animals cry out to You, for the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. |
|
