📖 Joel — Chapter 1 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Joel 1:1 The Rword of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joel 1:2 RHear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
Joel 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
Joel 1:4 TThat which the palmerworm hath left hath Rthe locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
Joel 1:5 RAwake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
Joel 1:6 For a Rnation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
Joel 1:7 He hath Rlaid my vine waste, and Tbarked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joel 1:8 RLament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Joel 1:9 The Rmeat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.
Joel 1:10 The Rfield is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Joel 1:11 Be ye Rashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Joel 1:12 RThe vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Joel 1:13 RGird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
Joel 1:14 RSanctify ye a fast, call a Tsolemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD,
Joel 1:15 RAlas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Joel 1:16 Is not Rthe meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Joel 1:17 The RTseed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
Joel 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
Joel 1:19 O LORD, Rto thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the Tpastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
Joel 1:20 The beasts of the field Rcry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Joel 1:1–7 — Tell the next generation of the devastated land
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Joel calls elders and inhabitants to hear and pass on the account. Successive consuming pests strip vines and fig trees, and those accustomed to drink are summoned to awaken and mourn.
Key Truth: Let a communal crisis be remembered truthfully.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the ____ of Pethuel.” (Joel 1:1)
Find it in Joel 1:1 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “That which the ____ hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the …” (Joel 1:4)
Find it in Joel 1:4 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “He hath ____ my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath …” (Joel 1:7)
Find it in Joel 1:7 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Joel 1:8–14 — Harvest loss becomes a call to assembled prayer
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The lament names missing offerings, grieving priests, ruined fields, and vanished joy. Ministers are called to sackcloth and fasting, gathering elders and people to cry to the Lord.
Key Truth: Bring communal need into humble prayer.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “____ like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of …” (Joel 1:8)
Find it in Joel 1:8 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Be ye ____ , O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the …” (Joel 1:11)
Find it in Joel 1:11 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “____ ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders …” (Joel 1:14)
Find it in Joel 1:14 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Joel 1:15–20 — The Lord’s day and the groaning creation
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The approaching day is named alongside lost food, ruined stores, starving animals, dried watercourses, and burned pastures. Joel himself cries to the Lord within this shared distress.
Key Truth: Notice the reach of suffering beyond your own household.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “____ for the day! for the day of the LORD is …” (Joel 1:15)
Find it in Joel 1:15 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “How do the ____ groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have …” (Joel 1:18)
Find it in Joel 1:18 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… and the flame hath burned all the trees of the ____ .” (Joel 1:19)
Find it in Joel 1:19 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Hosea 14:2 — The preceding book calls for words of return to the Lord.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
What shared need should move your community toward prayer and care?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Which account best distinguishes Joel 1:1–7 (Tell the next generation of the devastated land) from the other movements of this chapter?
2. Which account best distinguishes Joel 1:8–14 (Harvest loss becomes a call to assembled prayer) from the other movements of this chapter?
3. Which account best distinguishes Joel 1:15–20 (The Lord’s day and the groaning creation) from the other movements of this chapter?
4. How does the response to devastation become a shared act of worship?
5. How does Joel respond personally to the ruined pastures and trees?
Notes
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