New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Joel 1
1
A message came to Joel from the Lord. He was the son of Pethuel. Here is what Joel said.
Reference
People
2
Elders, listen to me. Pay attention, all you who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life? Did it ever happen to your people who lived long ago?
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3
Tell your children about it. Let them tell their children. And let their children tell it to those who live after them.
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4
The giant locusts have eaten what the common locusts have left. The young locusts have eaten what the giant locusts have left. And other locusts have eaten what the young locusts have left.
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5
Get up and sob, you people who drink too much! Cry, all you who drink wine! Cry because the fresh wine has been taken away from you.
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Parallel theme
James 5:1
6
The locusts are like an army that has marched into our land. There are so many of them they can't even be counted. Their teeth are as sharp as a lion's teeth. They are like the fangs of a female lion.
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Parallel theme
Joel 2:25
7
The locusts have completely destroyed our vines. They have wiped out our fig trees. They've stripped off the bark and thrown it away. They've left the branches bare.
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8
My people, sob like a virgin who is dressed in black clothes. She is sad because she has lost the young man she was going to marry.
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9
No one brings grain offerings and drink offerings to the Lord's house anymore. So the priests who serve the Lord are filled with sorrow.
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10
Our fields are wiped out. The ground is dried up. The grain is destroyed. The fresh wine is gone. And there isn't any more olive oil.
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11
Farmers, be sad. Cry, you who grow vines. Sob because the wheat and barley are gone. The crops in the fields are destroyed.
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12
The vines and fig trees are dried up. The pomegranate, palm and apple trees don't have any fruit on them. In fact, all of the trees in the fields are dried up. And my people's joy has faded away.
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13
Priests, put on black clothes and sob. Cry, you who serve at the altar. Come, you who serve my God in the temple. Spend the night dressed in black clothes. Sob because no one brings grain offerings and drink offerings to the house of your God anymore.
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14
Announce a holy fast. Tell the people not to eat anything. Gather them together for a special service. Send for all of the elders who live in the land. Have them come to the house of the Lord your God. And pray to him.
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15
The day of the Lord is near. How sad it will be on that day! The Mighty One is coming to destroy you.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 30:7
Revelation 6:17
James 5:9
References Lord
Joel 2:11
Joel 2:31
Psalm 37:13
16
Our food has been taken away right in front of our eyes. There isn't any joy or gladness in the house of our God.
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References God
Psalm 43:4
17
The seeds have dried up in the ground. The grain is also gone. The storerooms have been destroyed. The barns are broken down.
18
Listen to the cattle groan! The herds wander around. They don't have any grass to eat. The flocks of sheep are also suffering.
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19
Lord, I call out to you. Fire has burned up the grasslands. Flames have destroyed all of the trees in the fields.
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Summary of Joel 1
Joel 1 describes an extraordinary agricultural catastrophe that destroys crops, vineyards, trees, livestock, food supplies, economic security, and even the normal functioning of worship, presenting the disaster not merely as a natural emergency but as a warning that should awaken the entire community to the seriousness of its relationship with God.
Joel begins by asking whether the elders and people have ever experienced anything comparable, emphasizing that the scale of the disaster is so great that it must be remembered and carefully explained to future generations.
The destruction is described through successive waves of locusts that consume what previous waves have left behind, creating the image of an invasion so thorough that almost nothing edible remains.
Wine disappears, vineyards and fig trees are stripped bare, grain and barley fail, olive trees are damaged, and fruit trees dry up, meaning that the disaster affects virtually every major source of food and agricultural income.
The consequences reach beyond the fields because farmers, vineyard workers, priests, livestock owners, and ordinary families all experience the effects of the devastation.
Even the temple's worship is disrupted because there is no longer enough grain or wine to provide the regular offerings.
Joel therefore presents the agricultural crisis as a spiritual crisis, because the destruction of the land has interrupted the people's normal relationship with God through worship.
The priests are called to mourn, while the entire community is commanded to fast, gather together, and cry out to God.
This collective response shows that Joel does not treat the disaster merely as an economic problem requiring practical recovery but as a moment that should cause the entire nation to examine its spiritual condition.
The announcement that the day of the Lord is near gives the disaster an even greater meaning, suggesting that the locust devastation should be understood as a warning pointing beyond the immediate crisis toward a decisive intervention by God.
The final verses expand the picture of suffering to include empty storehouses, destroyed seed, starving cattle, sheep without pasture, dried streams, burning fields, and even wild animals crying out because the natural environment has been severely damaged.
The central message is that Joel 1 presents devastating loss as a powerful call to wake up, recognize human dependence upon God, and respond through mourning, fasting, prayer, and repentance, because the destruction of crops and livelihood has exposed how fragile human security becomes when the foundations of life are shaken.
The chapter also introduces the larger theme of the day of the Lord by showing that an overwhelming present crisis can serve as a warning of an even greater divine reckoning, while the community's proper response is not despair or denial but humble recognition of its dependence upon God and a sincere cry for His mercy and intervention.
Joel begins by asking whether the elders and people have ever experienced anything comparable, emphasizing that the scale of the disaster is so great that it must be remembered and carefully explained to future generations.
The destruction is described through successive waves of locusts that consume what previous waves have left behind, creating the image of an invasion so thorough that almost nothing edible remains.
Wine disappears, vineyards and fig trees are stripped bare, grain and barley fail, olive trees are damaged, and fruit trees dry up, meaning that the disaster affects virtually every major source of food and agricultural income.
The consequences reach beyond the fields because farmers, vineyard workers, priests, livestock owners, and ordinary families all experience the effects of the devastation.
Even the temple's worship is disrupted because there is no longer enough grain or wine to provide the regular offerings.
Joel therefore presents the agricultural crisis as a spiritual crisis, because the destruction of the land has interrupted the people's normal relationship with God through worship.
The priests are called to mourn, while the entire community is commanded to fast, gather together, and cry out to God.
This collective response shows that Joel does not treat the disaster merely as an economic problem requiring practical recovery but as a moment that should cause the entire nation to examine its spiritual condition.
The announcement that the day of the Lord is near gives the disaster an even greater meaning, suggesting that the locust devastation should be understood as a warning pointing beyond the immediate crisis toward a decisive intervention by God.
The final verses expand the picture of suffering to include empty storehouses, destroyed seed, starving cattle, sheep without pasture, dried streams, burning fields, and even wild animals crying out because the natural environment has been severely damaged.
The central message is that Joel 1 presents devastating loss as a powerful call to wake up, recognize human dependence upon God, and respond through mourning, fasting, prayer, and repentance, because the destruction of crops and livelihood has exposed how fragile human security becomes when the foundations of life are shaken.
The chapter also introduces the larger theme of the day of the Lord by showing that an overwhelming present crisis can serve as a warning of an even greater divine reckoning, while the community's proper response is not despair or denial but humble recognition of its dependence upon God and a sincere cry for His mercy and intervention.