The big picture
Joel 1 opens in verse 1 with “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.”, reaches its middle movement near verse 10 with “The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried…”, and closes in verse 20 with “The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and…” Repeated or prominent terms include LORD, field, tree, children, house. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Joel · King James Version · 20Joel 1:1-7
1–7: The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
Joel 1:1–7 opens with “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.” and reaches “He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Locusts consuming vines, grain, and pasture while farmers, priests, and elders mourn together, with particular weight carried by children, eaten, left.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.” Naming Joel and Pethuel keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
Joel 1:1-7
King James Version1The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.
2Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?
3Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.
4That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.
5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.
6For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
7He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.
Joel 1:8-14
8–14: Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
Joel 1:8–14 opens with “Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” and reaches “Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Locusts consuming vines, grain, and pasture while farmers, priests, and elders mourn together, with particular weight carried by offering, tree, field.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.” Naming Lament keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD ; the priests, the LORD’s ministers…” The line’s distinctive content terms include offering, drink, house. Its relationship to verses 8 and 10 shows what work it does in this passage.
“The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.” The line’s distinctive content terms include wasted, corn, dried. Its relationship to verses 9 and 11 shows what work it does in this passage.
Joel 1:8-14
King James Version8Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth.
9The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD ; the priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn.
10The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
11Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
12The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
13Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.
14Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD ,
Joel 1:15-20
15–20: Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a…
Joel 1:15–20 opens with “Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty…” and reaches “The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Locusts consuming vines, grain, and pasture while farmers, priests, and elders mourn together, with particular weight carried by beasts, desolate, devoured.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Joel 1:15-20
King James Version15Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
16Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
17The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.
18How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
19O LORD , to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Joel 1:1 begins with “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.”
Where the chapter turns
Joel 1:16 forms a natural hinge: “Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?”
The final note
Joel 1:20 leaves the reader with “The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words LORD, field, tree, children, house, land help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
Who receives the image and the blessing?
Both male and female in verses 27-28. Human worth precedes achievement.
What limits human dominion?
The world belongs to its Creator and is already declared good. Compare the charge to tend and keep in 2:15.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.