Joel 1:1-7

New International Version

1 The word of the Lord that came^(A) to Joel^(B) son of Pethuel.

An Invasion of Locusts

²Hear this,^(C) you elders;^(D)
    listen, all who live in the land.^(E)
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
    or in the days of your ancestors?^(F)
³Tell it to your children,^(G)
    and let your children tell it to their children,
    and their children to the next generation.^(H)
⁴What the locust^(I) swarm has left
    the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
    the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left^(J)
    other locusts^[a] have eaten.^(K)

⁵Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
    Wail, all you drinkers of wine;^(L)
wail because of the new wine,
    for it has been snatched^(M) from your lips.
⁶A nation has invaded my land,
    a mighty army without number;^(N)
it has the teeth^(O) of a lion,
    the fangs of a lioness.
⁷It has laid waste^(P) my vines
    and ruined my fig trees.^(Q)
It has stripped off their bark
    and thrown it away,
    leaving their branches white.

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Footnotes

Joel 1:4 The precise meaning of the four Hebrew words used here for locusts is uncertain.

Joel 1:19-20

New International Version

¹⁹To you, Lord, I call,^(A)
    for fire^(B) has devoured the pastures^(C) in the wilderness
    and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
²⁰Even the wild animals pant for you;^(D)
    the streams of water have dried up^(E)
    and fire has devoured the pastures^(F) in the wilderness.