Joel 1:12

12 The vines have become dry, and the fig trees are dried up. The pomegranate trees, the date palm trees, the apple trees -- all the trees in the field have died. And the happiness of the people has died, too.

Joel 1:12 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 1:12

The vine is dried up
Withered away, stripped of its leaves and fruits, and its sap and moisture gone: or, "is ashamed" F20; to see itself in this condition, and not answer the expectation of its proprietor and dresser: and the fig tree languisheth;
sickens and dies, through the bite of the locusts: the pomegranate tree:
whose fruit is delicious, and of which wine was made: the palm tree also; which bears dates: and the apple tree;
that looks so beautiful, when either in bloom, or laden with fruit, and whose fruit is very grateful to the palate; so that both what were for common use and necessary food, and what were for delight and pleasure, were destroyed by these noisome creatures: [even] all the trees of the field are withered;
for locusts not only devour the leaves and fruits of trees, but hurt the trees themselves; burn them up by touching them, and cause them to wither away and die, both by the saliva and dung, which they leave upon them, as Bochart, from various authors, has proved: because joy is withered away from the sons of men;
this is not given as a reason of the above trees dried up and withered, but of the lamentation of the vinedressers and husbandmen: or else the particle (yk) is merely expletive, or may be rendered, "therefore", or "truly", or "surely" F21, "joy is withered", or "ashamed"; it blushes to appear, as it used to do at the time of harvest; but now there was no harvest, and so no joy expressed, as usually was at such times; see ( Isaiah 9:3 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F20 (hvybwh) "confusa est", V. L. "pudefacta est", Cocceius; "pudet", Drusius.
F21 (yk) "ideo", Grotius; "imo", Piscator; "sane", Mercer.

Joel 1:12 In-Context

10 The fields are ruined; the ground is dried up. The grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the olive oil runs out.
11 Be sad, farmers. Cry loudly, you who grow grapes. Cry for the wheat and the barley. Cry because the harvest of the field is lost.
12 The vines have become dry, and the fig trees are dried up. The pomegranate trees, the date palm trees, the apple trees -- all the trees in the field have died. And the happiness of the people has died, too.
13 Priests, put on your rough cloth and cry to show your sadness. Servants of the altar, cry out loud. Servants of my God, keep your rough cloth on all night to show your sadness. Cry because there will be no more grain or drink offerings to offer in the Temple of your God.
14 Call for a day when no one eats food! Tell everyone to stop work! Bring the older leaders and everyone who lives in the land to the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.