Through the Bible – Day 349

₁I am Joel the son of Pethuel.

And this is the message

the LORD gave to me.

₂Listen, you leaders

and everyone else

in the land.

Has anything like this

ever happened before?

₃Tell our children!

Let it be told

to our grandchildren

and their children too.

₄Swarm after swarm of locusts

has attacked our crops,

eating everything in sight.

₅Sober up, you drunkards!

Cry long and loud;

your wine supply is gone.

₆A powerful nation

with countless troops

has invaded our land.

They have the teeth and jaws

of powerful lions.

₇Our grapevines and fig trees

are stripped bare;

only naked branches remain.

₈Grieve like a young woman

mourning for the man

she was to marry.

₉Offerings of grain and wine

are no longer brought

to the LORD's temple.

His servants, the priests,

are deep in sorrow.

₁₀Barren fields mourn;

grain, grapes, and olives

are scorched and shrivelled.

₁₁Mourn for our farms

and our vineyards!

There's no wheat or barley

growing in our fields.

₁₂Grapevines have dried up

and so has every tree—

figs and pomegranates,

date palms and apples.

All happiness has faded away.

₁₃Mourn, you priests who serve

at the altar of my God.

Spend your days and nights

wearing sackcloth.

Offerings of grain and wine

are no longer brought

to the LORD's temple.

₁₄Tell the leaders and people

to come together

at the temple.

Order them to go without eating

and to pray sincerely.

₁₅We are in for trouble!

Soon the LORD All-Powerful

will bring disaster.

₁₆Our food is already gone;

there's no more celebrating

at the temple of our God.

₁₇Seeds dry up in the ground;

no harvest is possible.

Our barns are in bad shape,

with no grain

to store in them.

₁₈Our cattle wander aimlessly,

moaning for lack of pasture,

and sheep are suffering.

₁₉I cry out to you, LORD.

Grasslands and forests are eaten

by the scorching heat.

₂₀Wild animals have no water

because of you;

rivers and streams are dry,

and pastures are parched.

₁Sound the trumpet on Zion,

the LORD's sacred hill.

Warn everyone to tremble!

The judgment day of the LORD

is coming soon.

₂It will be dark and gloomy

with storm clouds overhead.

Troops will cover the mountains

like thunderclouds.

No army this powerful

has ever been gathered before

or will ever be again.

₃Fiery flames surround them;

no one escapes.

Before they invaded,

the land was like Eden;

now only a desert remains.

₄They look like horses

and charge like cavalry.

₅They roar over mountains

like noisy chariots,

or a mighty army

ready for battle.

They are a forest fire

that feasts on straw.

₆The very sight of them

is frightening.

₇They climb over walls

like warriors;

they march in columns

and never turn aside.

₈They charge straight ahead,

without pushing each other;

even arrows and spears

cannot make them retreat.

₉They swarm over city walls

and enter our homes;

they crawl in through windows,

just like thieves.

₁₀They make the earth tremble

and the heavens shake;

the sun and moon turn dark,

and stars stop shining.

₁₁The LORD God leads this army

of countless troops,

and they obey his commands.

The day of his judgment

is so terrible

that no one can stand it.

It isn't too late.

You can still return to me

with all your heart.

Start crying and mourning!

Go without eating.

₁₃Don't rip your clothes

to show your sorrow.

Instead, turn back to me

with broken hearts.

I am merciful, kind, and caring.

I don't easily lose my temper,

and I don't like to punish.

₁₄I am the LORD your God.

Perhaps I will change my mind

and treat you with mercy.

Then you will be blessed

with enough grain and wine

for offering sacrifices to me.

₁₅Sound the trumpet on Zion!

Call the people together.

Show your sorrow

by going without food.

₁₆Make sure that everyone

is fit to worship me.

Bring adults, children, babies,

and even bring newlyweds

from their festivities.

₁₇Tell my servants, the priests,

to cry inside the temple

and to offer this prayer

near the altar:

“Save your people, LORD God!

Don't let foreign nations

make jokes about us.

Don't let them laugh and ask,

‘Where is your God?’ ”

₁₈The LORD was deeply concerned

about his land

and had pity on his people.

₁₉In answer to their prayers

he said,

“I will give you enough grain,

wine, and olive oil

to satisfy your needs.

No longer will I let you

be insulted by the nations.

₂₀An army attacked from the north,

but I will chase it

into a scorching desert.

There it will rot and stink

from the Dead Sea

to the Mediterranean.”

The LORD works wonders

₂₁and does great things.

So tell the soil to celebrate

₂₂and wild animals

to stop being afraid.

Grasslands are green again;

fruit trees and fig trees

are loaded with fruit.

Grapevines are covered

with grapes.

₂₃People of Zion,

celebrate in honour

of the LORD your God!

He is generous and has sent

the autumn and spring rains

in the proper seasons.

₂₄Grain will cover

your threshing places;

jars will overflow

with wine and olive oil.

₂₅I, the LORD your God,

will make up for the losses

caused by those swarms

and swarms of locusts

I sent to attack you.

₂₆My people, you will eat

until you are satisfied.

Then you will praise me

for the wonderful things

I have done.

Never again will you

be put to shame.

₂₇Israel, you will know

that I stand at your side.

I am the LORD your God—

there are no other gods.

Never again will you

be put to shame.

₂₈Later, I will give my Spirit

to everyone.

Your sons and daughters

will prophesy.

Your old men

will have dreams,

and your young men

will see visions.

₂₉In those days I will even give

my Spirit to my servants,

both men and women.

₃₀I will work wonders

in the sky above

and on the earth below.

There will be blood and fire

and clouds of smoke.

₃₁The sun will turn dark,

and the moon

will be as red as blood

before that great

and terrible day

when I appear.

“Get ready for war!

Be eager to fight.

Line up for battle

and prepare to attack.

₁₀Make swords out of ploughs

and spears out of garden tools.

Strengthen every weakling.”

₁₁Hurry, all you nations!

Come quickly.

Ask the LORD to bring

his warriors along.

₁₂You must come now

to Judgment Valley,

where the LORD will judge

the surrounding nations.

₁₃They are a field of ripe crops.

Bring in the harvest!

They are grapes piled high.

Start trampling them now!

If our enemy's sins were wine,

every jar would overflow.

₁₄Crowds fill Decision Valley.

The judgment day of the LORD

will soon be here—

₁₅no light from the sun or moon,

and stars no longer shine.

₁₆From the heart of Jerusalem

the LORD roars like a lion,

shaking the earth and sky.

But the LORD is a fortress,

a place of safety

for his people Israel.

₁₇I am the LORD your God.

And you will know I live on Zion,

my sacred hill,

because Jerusalem will be sacred,

untouched by foreign troops.

₁₈On that day, fruitful vineyards

will cover the mountains.

And your cattle and goats

that graze on the hills

will produce a lot of milk.

Streams in Judah

will never run dry;

a stream from my house

will flow in Acacia Valley.

₁₉Egypt and Edom were cruel

and brutal to Judah,

without a reason.

Now their countries will become

a barren desert,

₂₀but Judah and Jerusalem

will always have people.

₂₁I, the LORD, live on Mount Zion.

I will punish the guilty

and defend the innocent.