Yoel 1:12

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ¹  as well.

In fact, ²  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ³  has dried up!

Yoel 3:3

3:3 and they cast lots for my people.

They traded ⁴  a boy for a prostitute;

they sold a little girl for wine so they could drink. ⁵ 

Yoel 3:19

3:19 Egypt will be desolate

and Edom will be a desolate wilderness,

because of the violence they did to the people of Judah, ⁶ 

in whose land they shed innocent blood.

[1:12]  ¹ 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]  ² tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ³ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[3:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “gave.”

[3:3]  ⁵ sn Heb “and they drank.” Joel vividly refers to a situation where innocent human life has little value; its only worth is its use in somehow satisfying selfish appetites of wicked people who have control over others (cf. Amos 2:6 and 8:6).

[3:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “violence of the sons of Judah.” The phrase “of the sons of Judah” is an objective genitive (cf. KJV “the violence against the children of Judah”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “violence done to the people of Judah”). It refers to injustices committed against the Judeans, not violence that the Judeans themselves had committed against others.