Commentary on Joel, Amos, Obadiah

1The word of Jehovah which came to Joel, the son of Pethuel.

2Hear this, ye the aged; And give ear, al ye inhabitants of the land; Hath this been in your days, Or in the days of your fathers?

3This to your children declare, And your children to their children, And their children to the next generation, —

4“The residue of the locust hath the chafer eaten, “The residue of the chafer hath the cankerworm eaten, “The residue of the cankerworm hath the caterpillar eaten.”

5Awake ye drunkards, and weep; Howl ye all who drink wine for the new wine; For cut off it is from your mouth.

6Verily a nation came up over my land, Strong and without number: Its teeth the teeth the teeth of a lion, And its jaw-bones those of a young lion:

7It exposed my vine to desolation, And my fig-tree to the stripping of the bark; By denuding it denuded it and cast it away, White have been made its branches.—

8Lament as a young woman, girded with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.

9Cut off is offering and libation From the house of Jehovah; Mourn do the priests, the ministers of Jehovah;

10Wasted is the field, mourn does the land; For laid waste is the corn, Dried up is the wine, destroyed is the oil.

11Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, howl, ye vinedressers, On account of the wheat and the barley; For perished has the harvest of the field,

12The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree is destroyed; The pomegranate, the palm also and the apple tree,— All the trees of the field have dried up: Verily dried up is joy among the children of men!

13Be girded and lament, ye priests; Howl ye ministers of the altar; Come, spend the night in sackcloth, Ye ministers of my God; For withheld from the house of your God Is offering and a libation:

14Sanctify a fast, call an assembly, Gather the elders, all the inhabitants of the land, Into the house of Jehovah your God, And cry ye to Jehovah.—

15Alas the day! For nigh is the day of Jehovah, And as a desolation from the Almighty it will come.

16Has not the meat before your eyes been cut off, Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

17Rotted have the grains under the clods, Desolate are the granaries, Pulled down have been the barns, For dried up has the corn.

18How has the beast groaned! Confounded are the herds of oxen! For wanting to them are pastures; The flocks of sheep are also desolate.

19To thee Jehovah will I cry; For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert, And the flame hath burnt all the trees of the field:

20The beasts of the field will also cry to thee; For dried up have the streams of waters, For the fire hath consumed the pastures of the desert.