Joel
JOEL - Yo'el of the Hebrew Names 'Plus' Version of the TaNaKh
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HEBREW NAMES 'PLUS' VERSION of the TANAKH
A Hebrew Beginner's Primer YO'EL
Joel
Brief notes on Hebrew pronunciation
can be found at GLOSSARY
or at the bottom of Yirmeyahu. [♦] See footnotes at the bottom of this page.
Footnotes for the B'rit Chadashah are HERE.
PEREQ א
CHAPTER 1 1:1D'var-YHWH asher hayah el-Yo'el ben-P'tu'el. 2
Hear this, ha-z'qenim,
And listen, all you inhabitants of ha-aretz.
Has this ever happened in your days,
or in the days of avoteikhem? 3
Tell your banim about it,
and have your banim tell their banim,
and their banim, l'dor acher.
4
What the swarming locust has left, the great locust has eaten.
What the great locust has left, the grasshopper has eaten.
What the grasshopper has left, the caterpillar has eaten.
5
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of yayin, because of the sweet wine;
for it is cut off from your mouth. 6
For a goy has come up on my eretz, strong, and without number.
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
and he has the fangs of a lioness. 7
He has laid my vine waste,
and stripped my fig tree.
He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away.
Its branches are made white.
8
Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth al-ba`al of her youth! 9
Cut off are minchah va-nesekh mi-beit YHWH. Ha-kohanim mourn, the ministers of YHWH. 10
Wasted is sadeh.
Mourning is adamah,
for the grain is destroyed,
The new wine has dried up,
and the oil languishes.
11
Be confounded, you farmers!
Wail, you vineyard keepers;
for the wheat and for the barley;
for the harvest of sadeh has perished. 12
The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered;
the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, kol atzei ha-sadeh are withered;
for sason has withered away min-b'nei adam.
13
Put on sackcloth and mourn, ha-kohanim!
Wail, you ministers of mizbeach.
Come, lie all night in sackcloth, you ministers of Elohai,
for minchah va-nasekh are withheld mi-beit Eloheikhem. 14
Sanctify a fast.
Call a solemn assembly.
Gather z'qenim,
and all the inhabitants of ha-aretz (to the) beit YHWH Eloheikhem,
and cry el-YHWH.
15Aha, la-yom!
For yom YHWH is at hand,
and it will come as destruction mi-Shaddai. 16
Isn't the food cut off before our eyes; mi-beit Eloheinu, simchah va-gil?
17
The seeds rot under their clods.
The granaries are laid desolate.
The barns are broken down,
for the grain has withered. 18
How b'hemah groan!
The herds of livestock are perplexed,
because they have no pasture.
Yes, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19
To you, YHWH, I cry, Ki esh has devoured
the pastures of midbar,
and the flame has burned kol etzei ha-sadeh. 20
Yes, bahamot sadeh pant to you,
for the mayim brooks have dried up, v'esh has devoured
the pastures of ha-midbar.
PEREQ ב
CHAPTER 2 2:1
Blow shofar b'Tziyyon,
and sound an alarm b'har kadshi!
Let all the inhabitants of ha-aretz tremble, ki-va yom-YHWH,
for it is close at hand: 2
A day of darkness and gloominess,
a day of clouds and thick darkness.
As shachar spreading al-he-harim,
`am rav and mighty;
there has never been the like,
neither will there be any more after them, ad-sh'nei dor va-dor.
3
A fire devours before them,
and behind them, a flame burns. K'gan `Eden (is) ha-aretz before them,
and behind them, a desolate midbar.
Yes, and no one has escaped them. 4
Their appearance is as the appearance of horses,
and they run as horsemen. 5
Like the noise of chariots al-rashei he-harim, they leap,
like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble,
like a strong people set in battle array. 6
At their presence the peoples are in anguish.
All faces have grown pale. 7K'gibborim they run.
They climb the wall like warriors.
They each march in his line, and they don't swerve off course. 8
Neither does one jostle another;
they march everyone in his path,
and they burst through the defenses,
and don't break ranks. 9Ba-`ir they rush.
On the wall they run. Ba-batim they climb.
Into the windows, they enter like thieves. 10Eretz quakes before them. Ha-shamayim tremble. Shemesh and moon are darkened,
and kokhavim withdraw their shining.[A] 11 YHWH thunders his voice before his army;
for his forces are very great;
for he is strong who obeys his command; ki-gadol yom YHWH v'norah m'od,
and who can endure it? 12
"Yet even now," n'um YHWH, "turn to me with all your heart,
and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning." 13
Tear your heart, and not your garments,
and turn el-YHWH Eloheikhem;
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, v'rav chesed,
and relents from sending calamity. 14
Who knows? He may turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him, minchah va-nesekh la-YHWH Eloheikhem. 15
Blow the shofar b'Tziyyon!
Sanctify a fast.
Call a solemn assembly. 16
Gather the people.
Sanctify the qahal.
Assemble z'qenim.
Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts.
Let the bridegroom go out of his room,
and the bride out of her room. 17
Let ha-kohanim, the ministers of YHWH,
weep between the porch and ha-mizbeach,
and let them say, "Spare your people, YHWH,
and don't give your heritage to reproach,
that the nations should make them a byword.
Why should they say among the peoples,
'Where is Eloheikhem?' " 18
Then YHWH was jealous for his eretz,
And had pity on his people. 19YHWH answered his people,
"Hinneh, I will send you grain, v'ha-tirosh, and oil,
and you will be satisfied with them;
and I will no more make you a reproach ba-goyim. 20
But I will remove the northern army far away from you,
and will drive it el-eretz barren and desolate,
its face el-yam ha-kadmoni,
and its back el-ha-yam ha-acharon;
and its stench will come up,
and its bad smell will rise."
Surely he has done great things. 21Adamah, don't be afraid.
Be glad and rejoice, for YHWH has done great things. 22
Don't be afraid, bahamot sadeh;
for the pastures of midbar spring up,
for the tree bears its fruit. Ha-gefen and the vine yield their strength.
23
"U'v'nei Tziyyon, be glad then,
and rejoice ba-YHWH Eloheikhem;
for he gives you the early rain in just measure,
and he causes the rain to come down for you,
the early rain and the latter rain, as before.[♦] 24
The threshing floors will be full of wheat,
and the vats will overflow with tirosh and oil. 25
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar,
my great army, which I sent among you. 26
You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied,
and will praise shem YHWH Eloheikhem,
who has dealt wondrously with you;
and my people will never again be ashamed. 27
You will know that I am among Yisra'el,
and that I am YHWH Eloheikhem, v'ein `od;
and my people will not be ashamed l`olam.
2:28 [3:1 in Heb.]
"It will happen afterward,
that I will pour out my Ruach al-kol-basar;
and your banim and your banot will prophesy.
Your z'qenim will dream dreams.
Your young men will see chazonot. 29 [3:2]v'gam al-ha-`avadim and on the handmaids ba-yamim ha-hemah, I will pour out my Ruach.
2:30 [3:3]
I will show moftim ba-shamayim u'va-aretz: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 [3:4]Ha-shemesh will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,[B]lif'nei bo yom YHWH, ha-gadol v'ha-nora.
32 [3:5]
It will happen that whoever will call b'shem YHWH shall be saved;[C]ki b'har Tziyyon u'v'Yrushalaim there will be those who escape, ka-asher amar YHWH, and among the remnant, those whom YHWH calls.
A 10: Matt. 24:29.
B 31: Rev. 6:12.
C 32: 2:28-32a: Acts 2:17-21.
PEREQ ג
CHAPTER 3 3:1 [4:1 in Heb.]
"Ki hinneh, ba-yamim ha-hemah, u'va`et ha-hi, when I restore the fortunes of Y'hudah v'Yrushalaim,
2 [4:2]
I will gather kol ha-goyim, and will bring them down into the valley of Y'hoshaphat; and I will execute mishpat on them there for my people, and for my heritage, Yisra'el, whom they have scattered ba-goyim, and have divided my eretz,
3 [4:3]
and have cast lots for my people, and have given ha-yeled for a prostitute, and sold ha-yaldah ba-yayin, that they may drink.
4 [4:4]
"V'gam attem to me, Tzur v'Tzidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.
5 [4:5]
Because you have taken my kesef and my zahav, and have carried my finest treasures into your hekhalot,
6 [4:6]u'v'nei Y'hudah u'v'nei Y'rushalaim you have sold liv'nei ha-Y'vanim, that you may remove them far from their border.
7 [4:7]Hinneh, I will stir them up out of the place where you have sold them, and will return your repayment on your own head;
8 [4:8]
and I will sell your banim and your banot b'yad b'nei Y'hudah, and they will sell them to the men of Sheva, to a faraway goy, ki YHWH diber."
9 [4:9]
Proclaim this ba-goyim:
"Prepare for war!
Stir up ha-gibborim.
Let all the anashim of war draw near.
Let them come up. 10 [4:10]
Beat your plowshares into swords,
and your pruning hooks into spears.
Let the weak say, 'Gibbor ani.' 11 [4:11]
Hurry and come, kol ha-goyim around,
and gather yourselves together."
Cause your gibborim to come down there, YHWH. 12 [4:12]
"Let ha-goyim arouse themselves,
and come up to the valley of Y'hoshaphat;
for there I will sit to judge kol ha-goyim around..
13 [4:13]
Put in the sickle;
for the harvest is ripe.[A]
Come, tread,
for the wine press is full,
the vats overflow,
for their wickedness is great."
14 [4:14]Hamonim, hamonim
in the valley of decision!
For yom YHWH is near,
in the valley of decision. 15 [4:15]Shemesh and moon are darkened, v'khokhavim withdraw their shining.
16 [4:16]V'YHWH mi-Tziyyon will roar, u'mi'Y'rushalaim will thunder;
and shamayim va-aretz will shake;
but YHWH will be a refuge to his people,
and a stronghold li'v'nei Yisra'el.
17 [4:17]
"So you will know ki ani YHWH Eloheikhem,
dwelling b'Tziyyon, my har kadosh.
Then Y'rushalaim (will be) kodesh,
and no strangers will pass through her any more.
18 [4:18]V'hayah b'yom ha-hu,
that ha-harim will drop down sweet wine,
the hills will flow with milk,
all the brooks of Y'hudah will flow with mayim,
and a fountain will flow mi-beit YHWH,[B]
and will water nachal ha-Shittim.
19 [4:19]Mitzrayim will be a desolation, va-Edom will be a desolate midbar,
me-chamas b'nei Y'hudah,
because they have shed innocent blood in their eretz. 20 [4:20]V'Y'hudah l`olam will be inhabited, v'Y'rushalaim l'dor va-dor. 21 [4:21]
I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed:
for YHWH dwells b'Tziyyon."
[A] (13) Rev. 14:19.
[B] (18) Rev. 22:1.
[♦]
2:23: The Bible mentions four seasons: Summer, Winter, the early rain (Oct.-Nov.), and the latter rain (Mar.-Apr.).