The Prophet Joel

By Arno Clement Gaebelein

The Book of Joel

Chapter 1.

1. The Word of Jehovah which came to Joel the Son

        of Pethuel.

 

2. Hear this, ye aged men

    And open the ear ye inhabitants of the land!

    Hath this happened in your days,

    Or even in the days of your fathers?

 

3. Relate it to your children

    And your children to their children,

    And their children to another generation.

 

4. What the Gasam¹ left, the Arbeh hath devoured

    And what the Arbeh left, the Jelek hath devoured

    And what the Jelek left, the Chasel hath devoured.

 

5. Awake, ye drunkards and weep!

    And howl all ye drinkers of wine

    Because of the sweet wine,

    For it is taken away from your mouth.

 

6. For a nation has come up upon my land

    Mighty and without number

    His teeth lion's teeth

    The jaw teeth, that of a lioness.

 

7. He hath made my vine for a desolation

    And my figtree broken off;

    Peeled off completely and cast it away;

    Its branches are made white.

 

8. Lament like a virgin!

    Girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.

 

9. Cut off is the meat and drink offering from the house

        of Jehovah.

    The priests mourn, the servants of Jehovah.

 

10. "Wasted is the field

     Mourning is the land

     For wasted is the corn

     The new wine is dried up

     The oil faileth."

 

11. Be ashamed, husbandmen!

      Howl vine dressers !

      For the wheat and the barley.

      Because the harvest of the field is lost.

 

12. The vine is dried up And the figtree faileth

      The pomegranate, also the palm and the apple tree.

      All the trees of the field are withered.

      Gone is joy from the children of men.

 

13. Gird yourselves and lament, O ye priests,

      Howl, ministers of the altar;

      Come lie down in sackcloth all night

      Ye ministers of my God.

      For withholden from the house of your God

      Are the meat offering and the drink offering.

 

14. Sanctify a fast.

     Call a solemn gathering.

     Bring together the Elders

     All the inhabitants of the land

     In the house of Jehovah your God

     And cry unto Jehovah.

15. Woe! For the Day!

      Because near is the day of Jehovah

      Even like destruction from Shaddai² it comes.

 

16. Is not the food cut off before our eyes?

      From the house of our God joy and gladness.

 

17. The seeds have perished under their clods.

      The garners become desolate

      The storehouses are broken down

      For withered is the corn.

 

18. Hear the cattle groan!

      The herds of cattle are bewildered,

      For there is no feeding place for them.

      Also the flocks of sheep are made to suffer.3

 

19. To Thee Jehovah, I cry

      For the fire has consumed the goodly places of the

            desert

      And a flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

 

20. Also the cattle of the field look up⁴ unto Thee

      For the streams of water are dried up,

      And a fire hath consumed the goodly places of the

            desert.

Chapter 2.

1. Blow the trumpet in Zion

   Sound an alarm in the mount of my holiness.

   Let all the dwellers of the land tremble,

   For the day of Jehovah cometh,

   For it is near at hand.

 

2. A day of darkness and gloom

    A day of clouds and thick darkness

    Like the dawn spread upon the mountains;

    A people numerous and strong!

    Never hath there been the like before,

    Neither shall the like come again,

    In the years of many generations.

 

3. A fire devoureth before them,

    And behind them a flame burneth;

    Before them the land is as the garden of Eden,

    And behind them a desolate wilderness,

    Yea, and nothing can escape them.

 

4. Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,

    And like the horsemen shall they run.

 

5. Like the noise of chariots,

    On the mountain tops, they shall leap,

    Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the

        stubble,

    Like a strong people set in battle array.

 

6. Before them the peoples are in distress

    All faces turn to paleness.

 

7. They run like mighty men

    They climb the wall like men of war;

    And they march each one in his ways,

    And they turn not aside from their ranks.

8. Nor doth one press upon another

    A mighty one⁵ marches in the highroad.

    They fall upon the dart, but are not wounded.

 

9. They spread themselves in the city,

    They run along upon the wall,

    They climb up into the houses,

    They enter in by the windows like a thief.

 

10. The earth trembleth before them,

      The heavens shake,

      The sun and the moon are darkened,

      And the stars withdraw their shining.

 

11. And Jehovah uttereth His voice before his army

      For very great is His host,

      For He that executeth His Word is mighty;

      For great is the day of Jehovah and very terrible

      And who can stand it?

 

12. Yet even now, saith Jehovah,

      Return unto me with all your heart

      With fasting and with weeping and with mourning.

 

13. And rend your heart and not your garments,

      And return unto Jehovah your God

      For He is gracious and merciful,

      Slow to anger and of great loving kindness

      And repenteth Him of the evil.

 

14. Who knoweth He may return and repent

      And leave a blessing behind,

      An oblation and a drink offering

      For Jehovah your God.

 

15. Blow the trumpet in Zion,

      Sanctify a fast.

16. Call out a solemn assembly,

      Gather the people.

      Sanctify a congregation.

      Assemble the old men.

      Gather the children,

      And those that suck the breasts;

      Let the bridegroom leave his chamber

      And the bride her closet;

 

17. Let the priests the ministers of Jehovah

      Weep between the porch and the altar,

      And let them say:

      "Spare Thy people, O Jehovah

      And give not thine heritage to reproach

      That the nations should rule over them6

      Wherefore should they say among the peoples

      Where is their God?"

 

18. Then Jehovah will be jealous for His land,

      And will have pity on His people.

 

19. And Jehovah will answer and say to His people:

      Behold I am sending to you the corn,

      The new wine and the oil;

      And ye shall be satisfied therewith,

      And I will no longer make you

      For a reproach among the nations.

 

20. And I will remove afar from you the One from the

            North

      And will drive him into a dry and desolate land,

      His face toward the Eastern sea

      His rear toward the Western sea

      And his stench shall arise

      And his ill odour shall ascend,

      For he hath lifted himself up to do great things.

 

21. Fear not, O Land

      Be glad and rejoice,

      For Jehovah doeth great things.

 

22. Fear not, ye beasts of the field!

      For the pastures of the desert spring forth

      The tree beareth her fruit

      The fig tree and the vine give their strength.

 

23. Ye children of Zion, be glad and rejoice

      In Jehovah your God;

      For He giveth you the early rain in righteousness,

      He causeth to descend for you the showers

      The early and the latter rain as before.

 

24. And the floors shall be full of corn,

      And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil.

 

25. And I will restore to you the years,

      Which the Arbeh hath eaten.

      "The Jelek, the Chasel and the Gazam,

      My great army, which I sent among you.

 

26. Then ye shall be in abundance, and be satisfied

      And praise the name of Jehovah your God,

      Who has dealt wondrously with you,

      And my people shall never be ashamed.

 

27. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,

      And that I Jehovah am your God, and none else.

      And my people shall never be ashamed.

 

28. And it shall come to pass afterwards,

      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.

 

29. Ya, even upon the men servants and the maid

            servants,

      In those days will I pour out my Spirit.

 

30. And I will give wonders in the heavens and on

            earth,

      Blood, and fire and pillars of smoke.

 

31. The sun shall be turned to darkness,

      And the moon into blood,

      Before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.

 

32. And it shall come to pass

      Whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall

            be saved.

      For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance,

      As Jehovah hath said,

      Even for the remnant whom Jehovah shall call.

 

Chapter III.

 

1. For behold in those days and in that time,

    When I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem;

 

2. I will also bring together all nations,

    And will bring them down into the valley of

        Jehoshaphat;

    And there will I judge them on account of my

        people,

    And my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered

        among the nations,

    And they divided my land.

 

3. And they cast lots for my people,

    They gave a boy for a harlot,

    And sold a girl for wine, and drank it.

 

4. Yea also, what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and

        Sidon,

    And all the borders of Philistia?

    Would you requite me with retaliation,

    If you retaliate

    Swiftly and speedily will I bring your recompense

    Upon your own head.

 

5. Because ye have taken my silver and gold,

    And have brought into your temples my very best things.

 

6. And the children of Judah and of Jerusalem,

    Ye sold to the children of the Greeks,

    That ye might remove them far from their border.

 

7. Behold I will raise them up out of the place whither

        ye sold them,

    And I will return the retaliation upon your own head.

 

8. And I will sell your sons and your daughters

    Into the hands of the sons of Judah.

    And they shall sell them to the Sabeans to a far off

        nation.

    For Jehovah hath spoken it.

 

9. Proclaim this among the nations:

    Declare a war!

    Arouse the mighty ones !

    Let all the men of war draw near, let them come up !

 

10. Beat your ploughshares into swords,

     And your pruning hooks into spears.

     Let the weak say, I am strong.

 

11. Come together,

      All ye nations round about

      Gather yourselves together.

      Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down

      O, Jehovah!

 

12. Let the nations arise and come up

      To the valley of Jehoshaphat

      For there will I sit to judge all the nations round about.

 

13. Put in the sickle,

      For the harvest is ripe;

      Come Tread !

      For the wine-press is full,

      The vats overflow;

      For their wickedness is great.

 

14. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision !

      For the day of Jehovah is at hand in the valley of

            decision.

 

15. The sun and the moon are darkened

      And the stars withdraw their shining.

 

16. And Jehovah shall roar from Zion,

      And send forth His voice from Jerusalem;

      And the heavens and the earth shall shake;

      But Jehovah will be a refuge for His people

      And a fortress for the sons of Israel.

 

17. And ye shall know that I, Jehovah your God,

      Dwell in Zion my holy mountain;

      And Jerusalem shall be holy,

      And strangers shall no more pass through her.

 

18. And ft 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 river beds of Judah shall be fuH with

            waters,

      And a fountain shall come forth from tkt kouse f

            Jehovah,

      And shall water the valley of Shittiin.

 

19. Egypt shall be a desolation

      And Edom shall be a desolate wilderness.

      For their violence against the children of Judah,

      Because they shed innocent blood in their land.

 

20. But Judah shall abide forever.

      And Jerusalem from generation to generation.

 

21. And I will purge them from the blood

      From which I had not purged them.

      And Jehovah will dwell in Zion.

 

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