Yeremia 12:11

12:11 They will lay it waste.

It will lie parched ¹  and empty before me.

The whole land will be laid waste.

But no one living in it will pay any heed. ² 

Yeremia 4:26

4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert

and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.

The Lord had brought this all about

because of his blazing anger. ³ 

Yoel 1:10-12

1:10 The crops of the fields ⁴  have been destroyed. ⁵ 

The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.

The fresh wine has dried up;

the olive oil languishes.

1:11 Be distressed, ⁶  farmers;

wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.

For the harvest of the field has perished.

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ⁷  as well.

In fact, ⁸  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ⁹  has dried up!

Amos 1:2

God Will Judge the Surrounding Nations

1:2 Amos ¹⁰  said:

“The Lord comes roaring ¹¹  out of Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹²  he comes bellowing! ¹³ 

The shepherds’ pastures wilt; ¹⁴ 

the summit of Carmel ¹⁵  withers.” ¹⁶ 

[12:11]  ¹ tn For the use of this verb see the notes on 12:4. Some understand the homonym here meaning “it [the desolated land] will mourn to me.” However, the only other use of the preposition עַל (’al) with this root means “to mourn over” not “to” (cf. Hos 10:5). For the use of the preposition here see BDB 753 s.v. עַל II.1.b and compare the use in Gen 48:7.

[12:11]  ² tn Heb “But there is no man laying it to heart.” For the idiom here see BDB 525 s.v. לֵב II.3.d and compare the usage in Isa 42:25; 47:7.

[12:11]  sn There is a very interesting play on words and sounds in this verse that paints a picture of desolation and the pathos it evokes. Part of this is reflected in the translation. The same Hebrew word referring to a desolation or a waste (שְׁמֵמָה, shÿmemah) is repeated three times at the end of three successive lines and the related verb is found at the beginning of the fourth (נָשַׁמָּה, nashammah). A similar sounding word is found in the second of the three successive lines (שָׁמָהּ, shamah = “he [they] will make it”). This latter word is part of a further play because it is repeated in a different form in the last line (שָׁם, sham = “laying”); they lay it waste but no one lays it to heart. There is also an interesting contrast between the sorrow the Lord feels and the inattention of the people.

[4:26]  ³ tn Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”

[1:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “the field has been utterly destroyed.” The term “field,” a collective singular for “fields,” is a metonymy for crops produced by the fields.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Joel uses intentionally alliterative language in the phrases שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה (shuddad sadeh, “the field is destroyed”) and אֲבְלָה אֲדָמָה (’avlah ’adamah, “the ground is in mourning”).

[1:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”

[1:12]  ⁷ tn This Hebrew word וְתַפּוּחַ (vÿtappuakh) probably refers to the apple tree (so most English versions), but other suggestions that scholars have offered include the apricot, citron, or quince.

[1:12]  ⁸ tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he;” the referent (Amos) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:2]  ¹¹ sn The Lord, in his role of warrior-king, is compared to a lion. See 3:4, 8.

[1:2]  ¹² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:2]  ¹³ tn Heb “gives his voice.”

[1:2]  ¹⁴ tn Lexicographers debate whether there are two roots אָבַל (’aval), one signifying “mourn” and the other “be dry,” or simply one (“mourn”). The parallel verb (“withers”) might favor the first option and have the meaning “wilt away.” It is interesting to note, however, that the root appears later in the book in the context of lament (5:16; 8:8, 10; 9:5). Either 1:2 is a possible wordplay to alert the reader to the death that will accompany the judgment (the option of two roots), or perhaps the translation “mourns” is appropriate here as well (cf. KJV, NASB, NKJV, NJPS; see also D. J. A. Clines, “Was There an ’BL II ‘Be Dry’ in Classical Hebrew?” VT 42 [1992]: 1-10).

[1:2]  ¹⁵ sn Carmel was a region known for its abundant plants and trees. See Isa 33:9; 35:2; Jer 50:19.

[1:2]  ¹⁶ sn Loss of a land’s fertility is frequently associated with judgment in the OT and ancient Near Eastern literature.