Joel 1:12

12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple[a] tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away.

Joel 1:12 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
12 The 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
12 The vine dries up; the fig tree languishes. Pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up, and gladness dries up from the children of man.
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 The grapevines have dried up, and the fig trees have withered. The pomegranate trees, palm trees, and apple trees— all the fruit trees—have dried up. And the people’s joy has dried up with them.
The Message Bible (MSG)
12 Vineyards dried up, fig trees withered, Pomegranates, date palms, and apple trees - deadwood everywhere! And joy is dried up and withered in the hearts of the people. Nothing's Going On in the Place of Worship
American Standard Version (ASV)
12 The vine is withered, 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: for joy is withered away from the sons of men.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
12 The grapevines are dried up. The fig trees are withered. The pomegranate, palm, and apricot trees, as well as all the trees in the orchards, have died. Yes, the joy of these people has died too.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
12 The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple- all the trees of the orchard-have withered. Indeed, human joy has dried up.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
12 The vines and fig trees are dried up. The pomegranate, palm and apple trees don't have any fruit on them. In fact, all of the trees in the fields are dried up. And my people's joy has faded away.

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, the olive oil fails.
11 Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
12 The vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the people’s joy is withered away.
13 Put on sackcloth, you priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.
14 Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.

Cross References 3

  • 1. S Isaiah 15:6
  • 2. S Exodus 28:33
  • 3. S Isaiah 16:8; Haggai 2:19

Footnotes 1

Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.