The first Chapter.
[ A] THis is the worde of the LORDE, that came vnto Ioel the sonne of Phatuel: Heare o ye elders: pōdre this wel, all ye that dwell in the lō¦de: yf euer there happened soch a thinge in youre dayes, or in ye dayes of youre fathers. Tell youre children of it, & let them shewe it vnto their children, & so they to certifie their posterite therof. Loke what the caterpiller hath lefte, yt hath the greshopper eaten vp: what the greshopper lefte, that hath the lo∣custe eaten vp: & what the locuste hath lefte, that hath the blastinge consumed. Wake vp ye dronckardes, & wepe: mourne all ye wyne suppers, because of youre swete wyne, for it shal be taken awaye from youre mouth. Yee a mightie & an innumerable people shall co∣me vp in to my londe: these haue teth like the teth of lyons, & chaftbones like the lyones. ses. They shal make my vinyarde waist, they shal pyll of the barckes of my fygetrees, stry¦pe them bare, cast them awaye, and make the braunches whyte.
Make ye mone as a virgin doth, yt gyrdeth [ B] her selfe with sacke, because of hir bryde gro¦me. For the meate & drynkofferynge shalbe taken awaye from the house of the LORDE: & the prestes ye LORDES ministers shal mour¦ne. The felde shalbe waisted, the londe shal∣be in a miserable case: for the corne shalbe de¦stroyed, the swete wyne shal come to confu∣cion, & the oyle vtterly desolate. The huszbō∣de men & the wyne gardeners shal loke pi∣teously & make lamentacion, for the wheate wyne & barley, & because the haruest vpon the felde is so clene destroyed. The grape ga¦therers shal make greate mone, when the vy¦nyarde & fygetrees be so vtterly waisted. Yee all the pomgarnettes, palmtrees, apletrees, & the other trees of the felde shall wyther a∣waye. Thus the mery cheare of the children of men shal come to confucion.
Gyrde you, & make yor mone, o ye prestes: mourne ye ministres of the aulter: go youre waye in, & slepe in sack cloth, o ye officers of my God: for the meat & drynkofferynge shal be taken awaye from the house of yor God. Proclame a fastynge, call the cōgregacion, [ C] gather the elders & all the inhabiters of the londe together into the house of the LORDE yor God, & crie vnto the LORDE: alas, alas for this daye. And why? the daye of the LOR¦DE is at honde, and commeth as a destroyer from the Allmightie. Shal not ye meates be taken awaye before oure eyes, the myrth also & ioye from the house of oure God? The sede shal perish in the grounde, the garners shall lye waist, the floores shalbe broken downe, for the corne shalbe destroied. O what a sigh¦inge make the catell? the bullockes are very euel likynge, because they haue no pasture: