Joel:1-3

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* The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel . * Hear 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 ? * Tell ye your children of it , and let your children tell their children , and their children another generation . * That 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 . * Awake , ye drunkards , and weep ; and howl , all ye drinkers of wine , because of the new wine ; for it is cut off from your mouth . * For 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 . * He 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 . * Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth . * The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD ; the priests , the LORD 'S ministers , mourn . * The field is wasted , the land mourneth ; for the corn is wasted : the new wine is dried up , the oil languisheth . * Be ye ashamed , O ye husbandmen ; howl , O ye vinedressers , for the wheat and for the barley ; because the harvest of the field is perished . * The 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 . * Gird 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 . * Sanctify 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 , * Alas for the day ! for the day of the LORD is at hand , and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come . * Is not the meat cut off before our eyes , yea , joy and gladness from the house of our God ? * The seed is rotten under their clods , the garners are laid desolate , the barns are broken down ; for the corn is withered . * How do the beasts groan ! the herds of cattle are perplexed , because they have no pasture ; yea , the flocks of sheep are made desolate . * O 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 . * The 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 . * Blow ye the trumpet in Zion , and sound an alarm in my holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble : for the day of the LORD cometh , for it is nigh at hand ; * A day of darkness and of gloominess , a day of clouds and of thick darkness , as the morning spread upon the mountains : a great people and a strong ; there hath not been ever the like , neither shall be any more after it , even to the years of many generations . * A fire devoureth before them ; and behind them a flame burneth : the land is as the garden of Eden before them , and behind them a desolate wilderness ; yea , and nothing shall escape them . * The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses ; and as horsemen , so shall they run . * Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap , like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble , as a strong people set in battle array . * Before their face the people shall be much pained : all faces shall gather blackness . * They shall run like mighty men ; they shall climb the wall like men of war ; and they shall march every one on his ways , and they shall not break their ranks : * Neither shall one thrust another ; they shall walk every one in his path : and when they fall upon the sword , they shall not be wounded . * They shall run to and fro in the city ; they shall run upon the wall , they shall climb up upon the houses ; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief . * The earth shall quake before them ; the heavens shall tremble : the sun and the moon shall be dark , and the stars shall withdraw their shining : * And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army : for his camp is very great : for he is strong that executeth his word : for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible ; and who can abide it ? * Therefore also now , saith the LORD , turn ye even to me with all your heart , and with fasting , and with weeping , and with mourning : * And rend your heart , and not your garments , and turn unto the LORD your God : for he is gracious and merciful , slow to anger , and of great kindness , and repenteth him of the evil . * Who knoweth if he will return and repent , and leave a blessing behind him ; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God ? * Blow the trumpet in Zion , sanctify a fast , call a solemn assembly : * Gather the people , sanctify the congregation , assemble the elders , gather the children , and those that suck the breasts : let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber , and the bride out of her closet . * Let the priests , the ministers of the LORD , weep between the porch and the altar , and let them say , Spare thy people , O LORD , and give not thine heritage to reproach , that the heathen should rule over them : wherefore should they say among the people , Where is their God ? * Then will the LORD be jealous for his land , and pity his people . * Yea , the LORD will answer and say unto his people , Behold , I will send you corn , and wine , and oil , and ye shall be satisfied therewith : and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen : * But I will remove far off from you the northern army , and will drive him into a land barren and desolate , with his face toward the east sea , and his hinder part toward the utmost sea , and his stink shall come up , and his ill savour shall come up , because he hath done great things . * Fear not , O land ; be glad and rejoice : for the LORD will do great things . * Be not afraid , ye beasts of the field : for the pastures of the wilderness do spring , for the tree beareth her fruit , the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength . * Be glad then , ye children of Zion , and rejoice in the LORD your God : for he hath given you the former rain moderately , and he will cause to come down for you the rain , the former rain , and the latter rain in the first month . * And the floors shall be full of wheat , and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil . * And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten , the cankerworm , and the caterpiller , and the palmerworm , my great army which I sent among you . * And ye shall eat in plenty , and be satisfied , and praise the name of the LORD your God , that hath dealt wondrously with you : and my people shall never be ashamed . * And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel , and that I am the LORD your God , and none else : and my people shall never be ashamed . * And it shall come to pass afterward , that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy , your old men shall dream dreams , your young men shall see visions : * And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit . * And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth , blood , and fire , and pillars of smoke . * The sun shall be turned into darkness , and the moon into blood , before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come . * And it shall come to pass , that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered : for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance , as the LORD hath said , and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call . * For , behold , in those days , and in that time , when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem , * I will also gather all nations , and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat , and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel , whom they have scattered among the nations , and parted my land . * And they have cast lots for my people ; and have given a boy for an harlot , and sold a girl for wine , that they might drink . * Yea , and what have ye to do with me , O Tyre , and Zidon , and all the coasts of Palestine ? will ye render me a recompence ? and if ye recompense me , swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head ; * Because ye have taken my silver and my gold , and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things : * The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians , that ye might remove them far from their border . * Behold , I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them , and will return your recompence upon your own head : * And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah , and they shall sell them to the Sabeans , to a people far off : for the LORD hath spoken it . * Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ; Prepare war , wake up the mighty men , let all the men of war draw near ; let them come up : * Beat your plowshares into swords , and your pruninghooks into spears : let the weak say , I am strong . * Assemble yourselves , and come , all ye heathen , and gather yourselves together round about : thither cause thy mighty ones to come down , O LORD . * Let the heathen be wakened , and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat : for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about . * Put ye in the sickle , for the harvest is ripe : come , get you down ; for the press is full , the fats overflow ; for their wickedness is great . * Multitudes , multitudes in the valley of decision : for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision . * The sun and the moon shall be darkened , and the stars shall withdraw their shining . * The LORD also shall roar out of Zion , and utter his voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth shall shake : but the LORD will be the hope of his people , and the strength of the children of Israel . * So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion , my holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem be holy , and there shall no strangers pass through her any more . * And it shall come to pass in that day , that the mountains shall drop down new wine , and the hills shall flow with milk , and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters , and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD , and shall water the valley of Shittim . * Egypt shall be a desolation , and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness , for the violence against the children of Judah , because they have shed innocent blood in their land . * But Judah shall dwell for ever , and Jerusalem from generation to generation . * For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed : for the LORD dwelleth in Zion . * But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel ;

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