Yoel 1:10-12

1:10 The crops of the fields ¹  have been destroyed. ² 

The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.

The fresh wine has dried up;

the olive oil languishes.

1:11 Be distressed, ³  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 ⁴  as well.

In fact, ⁵  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ⁶  has dried up!

Yoel 1:17-20

1:17 The grains of seed ⁷  have shriveled beneath their shovels. ⁸ 

Storehouses have been decimated

and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.

1:18 Listen to the cattle groan! ⁹ 

The herds of livestock wander around in confusion ¹⁰ 

because they have no pasture.

Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

1:19 To you, O Lord, I call out for help, ¹¹ 

for fire ¹²  has burned up ¹³  the grassy pastures, ¹⁴ 

flames have razed ¹⁵  all the trees in the fields.

1:20 Even the wild animals ¹⁶  cry out to you; ¹⁷ 

for the river beds ¹⁸  have dried up;

fire has destroyed ¹⁹  the grassy pastures. ²⁰ 

[1:10]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”

[1:12]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[1:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “seed.” The phrase “the grains of” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.

[1:17]  ⁸ tc This line is textually uncertain. The MT reads “the seed shrivels in their shovels/clods.” One Qumran manuscript (4QXXII^c) reads “the heifers decay in [their] s[talls].” LXX reads “the heifers leap in their stalls.”

[1:17]  tn These two lines of v. 17 comprise only four words in the Hebrew; three of the four are found only here in the OT. The translation and meaning are rather uncertain. A number of English versions render the word translated “shovels” as “clods,” referring to lumps of soil (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ (bukh, “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3).

[1:19]  ¹¹ tn The phrase “for help” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:19]  ¹² sn Fire here and in v. 20 is probably not to be understood in a literal sense. The locust plague, accompanied by conditions of extreme drought, has left the countryside looking as though everything has been burned up (so also in Joel 2:3).

[1:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “consumed.” This entire line is restated at the end of v. 20.

[1:19]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”

[1:19]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a flame has set ablaze.” This fire was one of the effects of the drought.

[1:20]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “beasts of the field.”

[1:20]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “long for you.” Animals of course do not have religious sensibilities as such; they do not in any literal sense long for Yahweh. Rather, the language here is figurative (metonymy of cause for effect). The animals long for food and water (so BDB 788 s.v. עָרַג), the ultimate source of which is Yahweh.

[1:20]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “sources of water.”

[1:20]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “consumed.”

[1:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”