Yoel 1:19

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

for fire ²  has burned up ³  the grassy pastures, ⁴ 

flames have razed ⁵  all the trees in the fields.

Yoel 2:22

2:22 Do not fear, wild animals! ⁶ 

For the pastures of the wilderness are again green with grass.

Indeed, the trees bear their fruit;

the fig tree and the vine yield to their fullest. ⁷ 

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

[1:19]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “consumed.” This entire line is restated at the end of v. 20.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”

[1:19]  ⁵ tn Heb “a flame has set ablaze.” This fire was one of the effects of the drought.

[2:22]  ⁶ tn Heb “beasts of the field.”

[2:22]  ⁷ tn Heb “their strength.” The trees and vines will produce a maximum harvest, in contrast to the failed agricultural conditions previously described.