Joel 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!

Joel 1:18

1:18 Listen to the cattle groan! ⁴ 

The herds of livestock wander around in confusion ⁵ 

because they have no pasture.

Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

Joel 1:20

1:20 Even the wild animals ⁶  cry out to you; ⁷ 

for the river beds ⁸  have dried up;

fire has destroyed ⁹  the grassy pastures. ¹⁰ 

Joel 2:3

2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹¹ 

a flame blazes behind them.

The land looks like the Garden of Eden ¹²  before them,

but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –

for nothing escapes them! ¹³ 

[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.”

[1:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”

[1:18]  ⁵ 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).

[1:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “beasts of the field.”

[1:20]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “sources of water.”

[1:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “consumed.”

[1:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”

[2:3]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “a fire devours before it.”

[2:3]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the garden of Eden, the land is before them.”

[2:3]  ¹² tn Heb “and surely a survivor there is not for it.” The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is apparently עַם (’am, “people”) of v. 2, which seems to be a figurative way of referring to the locusts. K&D 26:191-92 thought that the antecedent of this pronoun was “land,” but the masculine gender of the pronoun does not support this.