1. A message came to Joel from the Lord. He was the son of Pethuel. Here is what Joel said.
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?
3. Tell your children about it. Let them tell their children. And let their children tell it to those who live after them.
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.
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.
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.
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.