13
Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn;
wail, you who minister before the altar.
Come, spend the night in sackcloth,
you who minister before my God;
for the grain offerings and drink offerings
are withheld from the house of your God.
14
Declare a holy fast;
call a sacred assembly.
Summon the elders
and all who live in the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
15
Alas for that day!
For the day of the Lord is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty. 1
16
Has not the food been cut off
before our very eyes -
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
17
The seeds are shriveled
beneath the clods. 2
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
18
How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about
because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
19
To you, Lord, I call,
for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness
and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
20
Even the wild animals pant for you;
the streams of water have dried up
and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.