A   Thys is the worde of þe; Lorde, that came vnto Ioell the sonne of Phatuel. Heare, O yee elders: pondre this well, all ye that dwell in the lande: yf euer there happened soch a thinge in your dayes, or in the dayes of youre fathers. Tell youre chyldren of it, and lett them shewe it vnto their chyldren, and so they to certifye theyr posteryte therof. Loke what the caterpyller hath lefte, that hath the greshoper eat&ebar; vp: what the greshoper lefte, B   that hath the locuste eaten vp: and what the locuste hath left, that hath the blastynge c&obar;sumed. Wake vp ye dronckardes, and wepe: mourne all ye wynesuppers, because of youre swete wyne, for it shall be taken awaye fr&obar; youre mouth. Yee, a myghtye and an innumerable people shall come vp into my lande: these haue teeth lyke the teeth of lyons, and chaftbones lyke the lyonesses. ^noteThey shall make my vyneyarde waste, they shall pyll of the darckes of my fyggetrees, strype them bare, cast th&ebar; awaye, and make the braunches whyte.

Make thy moone as a vyrgin doth that gyrdeth her selfe with sacke, because of her bryde grome. For the meate and drynckoffringe shalbe taken awaye from the house of the Lorde, and the prestes the Lordes minysters shall mourne. The felde shalbe wasted, the lande shalbe in a myserable case: for the corne shalbe destroyed, C   the swete wyne shall come to c&obar;fusyon, and the oyle vtterly desolate. The housbandmen and the wyne gardeners shall loke pyteously and make lam&ebar;tacyon, for the wheate, wyne and barly, and because the haruest vpon the felde is so clene destroyed. The grapegatherers shall make greate mone, when the vyneyarde and fyggetrees be so vtterly wasted. Yee, all the p&obar;garnettes, palmetrees, apletrees, ∧ the other

trees of the felde shall wyther awaye. Thus the mery cheare of the chyldren of men, shall come to confusyon.

Gyrde you, and make youre mone, O ye prestes, mourne ye minystres of the aulter: goo your waye in, and slepe in sack cloth, O ye officiers of my God: for the meat ∧ drinkofferinge shall be taken awaye fr&obar; the house of youre God. D   Proclayme a fastinge, call the c&obar;gregacyon, gather the elders ^note and all the inhabitours of the lande together into the house of the Lorde your God, and crye vnto þe; Lorde: alas, alas for thys daye. And why? the daye of the Lorde is at h&abar;de, and cometh as a destroyer from the almyghtye. Shall not the meates be taken awaye before oure eyes, &rhand; the myrth also and ioye from the house of our God? The sede shall peryshe in the grounde, the garners shall lye waste, the flores shalbe broken downe, for þe; corne shall be destroyed. O what a syghynge make the kyne? the bullockes are very euell lykynge, because they haue no pasture: and the shepe are famysshed awaye.

O Lorde, to the wyll I crye: for the fyre hath consumed the goodly pastures of the wyldernes, and the flame hath brent vp all the trees of the felde. Yee, the wylde beastes crye also vnto the: for the water riuers are dryed vp, and the fyre hath consumed the pastures of the wyldernesse. ¶ The .ij. Chapter. ¶ He prophecyeth the commynge and crueltye of theyr enemyes. An exhortacyon to moue them to conuert.

A   Blowe out the tr&obar;pette in Syon, and crye vpon my holy hyll, that all soche as dwell in þe; lande, maye tremble at it: ^note for the daye of the Lorde commeth, and is harde at hande: a darcke daye, a gloomynge daye, a cloudy daye, yee, and a stormy daye, lyke as þe; mornynge spredeth out vpon þe; hylles. Namely, a greate and myghtye people: soch as haue not bene sence the beginninge, nether shall be after them for euermore. Before him shall be a consumynge fyre, and behynde him a burnynge flame. The lande shalbe as a garden of pleasure before him, but behinde him shall it be a very waste wyldernesse, and there is no man, that shall escape hym: They are to loke vpon lyke barbed horses, ∧ runne lyke horsmen. They skippe vp vp&obar; the hylles, as it were the sounde of charettes: as the flame of fyre that consumeth the strawe, and as a myghty people redy to the batayll.

B   The folke shalbe afrayed of hym, all faces shalbe as blacke as a pot: These shall r&ubar;ne lyke gyauntes, and leape ouer the walles lyke men of warre. Euery man in his goinge shall kepe hys araye, and not goo out of hys path. There shall not one driue another, but eche shall kepe his awne waye. They shall breake in at the wyndowes, ∧ not be hurte: They shall come into the cytie, ∧ runne vp&obar; the walles. C   They shall clyme vp vpon the houses, and slyppe in at the wyndowes lyke a thefe. The earth shall quake before hym, yee, þe; heauens shalbe moued. ^noteThe sunne ∧ the moone shall be darckened, and the starres shall withdrawe theyr shyne. The Lord shall shewe hys voyce before hys hooste, for his hoost is greate, stronge, and myghtye to fulfyll hys commaundement. Thys is that greate and maruelous fearfull daye of the Lorde. ^noteAnd who is able to abyde it?

Nowe therfore sayeth þe; Lorde. ^noteTurne you vnto me with all your hertes, with fastinge, wepynge and mournynge, r&ebar;te your hertes, and not youre clothes. Turne you vnto þe; Lord your God, ^note for he is gracious and mercyfull, longe sufferynge and of great c&obar;passyon: and redy to pardone wyckednes. Then (no doute) he also shall turne, and forgeue, and after his chastenynge, he shall lett your increase remayne, for meat and drinckoffrynges vnto þe; Lord your God? ^noteBlowe out with the tr&obar;pette in Syon, D   proclayme a fastynge, call the congregacyon, and gather the people together: warne the congregacy&obar;, gather the elders, brynge the chyldren ∧ sucklynges together. Lett the brydegrome go forth of his ch&abar;bre, and the bryde out of her closet. Lett the prestes serue the Lorde betwyxte þe; porch and the aulter, wepinge and sayinge: be fauourable, O Lorde, be fauourable vnto thy people: let not thyne heritage be brought to soch confusyon, lest þe; Heathen be lordes therof. ^noteWherfore shulde they saye amonge the Heathen: where is nowe theyr God.

E   Then shall the Lorde be gelous ouer his lande, and spare hys people: yee, the Lorde shall answere, and saye vnto his people: Beholde, I wyll sende you corne, wyne ∧ oyle, so that ye shall haue plenty of them: and I will nomore geue you ouer to be a reprofe amonge the Heathen. Agayne, as for him of the north, I shall dryue him farre from you: and shute him out into a drye ∧ waste lande, his face towarde the east see, and his hynder partes towarde the vtmost see. The styncke of him shall go vp, and his fylthy corrupcy&obar; shall fall vp&obar; him selfe, because he hath dealt so proudly. Feare not (O lande) but be glad and reioyse, for the Lorde will do great thinges. Be not ye afrayed nether (O ye beastes of the felde) for the pastures shalbe grene, and the trees shall beare their frute: the fyggetrees and vyneyardes shall geue theyr increase.

F   Be glad then (O ye chyldren of Syon) and reioyse in the Lorde youre God, for he

hath geuen you a teacher of ryghteousnesse: ^note ∧ he it is that shall sende you downe shouers of rayne, early and late in the fyrst moneth: so that the garners shalbe full of corne, and the presses plenteous in wyne and oyle. And as for the yeares that the gresshoper, locuste, blastynge, and caterpyller (my greate hoost, which I sent amonge you) haue eaten vp, I shall restore them to you agayne. so þt; ye shall haue ynough to eate, ∧ be satisfyed: and prayse the name of the Lorde your God, that so maruelously hath dealte with you.

And my people shall neuer be confounded any more. Ye shall well knowe, that I am in þe; myddest of Israell, and that I am youre God: yee, and that there is none other, and my people shall no more be brought to confusion.

G    ^noteAfter this, will I poure out my sprete &rhand; vpon all flesh: and your sonnes and your daughters shall &pro;phecy: your olde men shall dreame &rhand; dreames, and youre yonge men shall se visy&obar;s, yee, in those dayes I will poure out my sprete vpon serua&ubar;tes and maydens. I will shewe wonders in heau&ebar; aboue and tokens in the earth beneth: bloude and fyre, and the vapoure of smoke. The sunne shalbe turned into darckenes, and the mone into bloude: before the greate ∧ notable daye of the Lord come. And the tyme shall come, that ^note whosoeuer calleth on the name of the Lorde, shalbe saued. For vpon the mounte Syon and at Ierusalem, there shalbe a saluacyon, lyke as þe; Lorde hath promysed: yee, and amonge the other remnaunt, whom the Lorde shall call. ¶ The .iij. Chapter. ¶ Of the iudgement of God agaynst the enemyes of hys people.

A   For take hede: in those dayes and at the same tyme, when I turne agayne the captiuyte of Iuda and Ierusalem: I shall gather all people together, and brynge them in þe; valley of Iosaphat: and there will I reason with th&ebar;: because of my people and heritage of Israel: wh&obar; they haue scatred about in the nacyons: and parted my l&abar;de: yee, they haue cast lottes for my people, the yonge m&ebar; haue they set in the bordel house, ∧ solde þe; damsels for wyne, that they myght haue to drincke. ^note B   Thou Tirus and Sidon and all ye borders of the Philistines: what haue ye to do &wt; me? Will ye defye me? well, yf ye will nedes defye me, I shall recompence you, euen vpon your heade, ∧ þe; ryght worthely: for ye haue taken awaye my syluer and golde, my fayre and goodly Iewels, and brought th&ebar; into your goddes houses. The chyldren also of Iuda and Ierusalem haue ye solde vnto þe; Grekes, þt; ye myght brynge them farre from the borders of their awne countrees.

Beholde therfore, I wyll rayse them out of the place, where ye haue solde them, ^note and will rewarde you euen vp&obar; your head. Your sonnes and youre daughters wyll I sell thorowe the handes of the chyldr&ebar; of Iuda, and so they shall geue them forth to sell, vnto th&ebar; of Saba, a people of a farre countre: for the Lorde him selfe hath sayde it. Crye oute these thynges amonge the Gentyles, proclayme warre, wake vp the gyauntes, let th&ebar; drawe nye, let them come vp all þe; lusty warryours of th&ebar;. ^note C   Make you sweardes of your plowshares, and speares of youre sycles ∧ sythes. Let the weake man saye: I am str&obar;ge. Mustre you, ∧ come, all ye Heathen ro&ubar;de about: gather you together, there shall þe; Lord laye all thy gyauntes to the grounde. Lett þe; people aryse, ∧ get th&ebar; to the valley of Iosaphat for there will I syt, ∧ iudge all Heath&ebar; ro&ubar;de aboute ^note Laye to your sythes, for &rhand; þe; haruest is rype: come, get you downe: the wyne presse is full, yee, þe; wynepresses runne ouer, for their wickednes is waxen greate.

In the valley appoynted, there shalbe many, many people: for the daye of the Lorde is nye in the valley appoynted. ^noteThe sunne ∧ moone shalbe darckened, ∧ the starres shall withdrawe their lyght. ^note D   The Lorde shall roare out of Syon, and crye out of Ierusal&ebar;, that the heauens and the earth shall quake withall. But the Lorde shalbe a defence vnto hys awne people, and a refuge for the chyldren of Israel. Thus shall ye knowe, that I the Lorde youre God dwell vpon my holy mounte of Syon. Then shall Ierusalem be holy, ∧ there shall no straungers go thorowe her any more.

^note&rhand; Then shall the mountaynes drope swete wyne, and the hylles shall flowe with mylcke. All the ryuers of Iuda shall haue water ynough, and out of the Lordes house there shall flowe a spring, to water the broke of ^note Sitim: but Egypte shalbe layed waste, ^note and Edom shalbe desolate: because they haue dealte so cruelly with þe; chyldren of Iuda, and shed innocent bloude in theyr lande. Agayne, Iuda shalbe inhabited for euermore, ∧ Ierusal&ebar; fr&obar; generacy&obar; to generacy&obar;: for I will not leaue their bloude vnauenged. And the Lorde shall dwell in Syon. ¶ The ende of the prophecye of Ioel.

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