Joel 1:17-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
17 The seed lies shriveled beneath clods of dirt;[a]
the storehouses are emptied.
The granaries are broken down,
for the grain is dried up.
18 [b]How the animals groan!
The herds of cattle are bewildered!
Because they have no pasture,
even the flocks of sheep are starving.
19 To you, Lord, I cry!
for fire has devoured the wilderness pastures,
flame has scorched all the trees in the field.
Footnotes
- 1:17 The seed…clods of dirt: the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. Most commentators use the translation given here, since it fits the prophet’s description of an agricultural year plagued by winter drought and a spring locust infestation.
- 1:18–19 In figurative language, Joel describes how the insufficient winter rain, the locust invasions, and summer’s heat on pasture lands and water sources drive domestic and wild animals to cry out for rain.
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