Joel 1:1-20

The Coming of the Locusts a Harbinger of the Day of the Lord

After the title (Joel 1:1), the prophet announces an unheard of and long to be remembered ruin, wrought by locusts (Joel 1:2), and summons the users of wine to bewail the destruction of vineyards (Joel 1:5). He calls for lamentation, like that of a widowed bride, over the loss of sacrificial offerings, and wasted fields and orchards (Joel 1:8). He commands the priests to lament and to appoint a fast and a meeting for prayer (Joel 1:13), and then he vividly describes the failure of crops and distress of cattle (Joel 1:16).