Devastation by a plague of locusts begins this prophecy. The devastation likely occurred in the reign of Uzziah early in the eighth century BC (approximately 792-742 BC.)
Joel 1:1-3, Everyone remembers
The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel.
Hear this, you elders;
listen, all who live in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your forefathers?
Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
The disaster, to be described below, is dramatic, traumatic, something that will be remembered for generations.
Joel 1:4, Locust after locust
What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.
The locusts destroyed everything; what one swarm left, the next swarm took. There are four swarms describe here, by (in the NIV) "locusts", "great locusts", "young locusts" and "other locusts". There are four different Hebrew words for these insects: gazam, arbeh, yeleq, and chasil. Strong's concordance in verse 4 translates these as "chewing locust", "swarming locust", "crawling locust" and "consuming locust". Patterson suggests that the four different terms (and the rhythm of the text) communicate the intensity of the plague. There are records of locust swarms throughout the history of the ANE.
Joel 1:5-7, Wake up!
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!
Wail, all you drinkers of wine;
wail because of the new wine,
for it has been snatched from your lips.
A nation has invaded my land,
powerful and without number;
it has the teeth of a lion,
the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste my vines
and ruined my fig trees.
It has stripped off their bark
and thrown it away,
leaving their branches white.
Now the prophet begins to speak. The nation is unprepared for this devastation. This devastation, removing all material comforts (such as new wine), should wake the people up.
The locust invasion is described as an invasion by a powerful nation. The horror of the locust (coming in waves of millions) is described in colorful detail.
Joel 1:8-10, Mourn, mourn, mourn
Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth
grieving for the husband of her youth.
Grain offerings and drink offerings
are cut off from the house of the LORD.
The priests are in mourning,
those who minister before the LORD.
The fields are ruined,
the ground is dried up;
the grain is destroyed,
the new wine is dried up,
the oil fails.
Everything is ruined, everyone is in mourning. Even the priests are in mourning. The people are to mourn like a young bride who has lost her husband.
Joel 1:11-12, Despair and wail
Despair, you farmers,
wail, you vine growers;
grieve for the wheat and the barley,
because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
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 joy of mankind is withered away.
The vines, wheat, barley, figs, pomegranates, and many other crops, have been destroyed. Indeed, all joy is gone.
Joel 1:13-14, Declare a fast
Put on sackcloth, O 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.
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.
The priests are instructed to lead the people in mourning. They are to declare a holy fast and call everyone together to cry out to God.
Joel 1:15-18, Shattered by Shadai
Alas for that day!
For the day of the LORD is near;
it will come like destruction from the Almighty.
Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes--
joy and gladness from the house of our God?
The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods.
The storehouses are in ruins,
the granaries have been broken down,
for the grain has dried up.
How the cattle moan!
The herds mill about because they have no pasture;
even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
Joel argues that the food shortage and ruined storehouses should bring people to repentance. A "day of YHWH" is near and it will include destruction. This locust swarm appears to be a warning.
In verse 15, the Hebrew translated "destruction from the Almighty" is two words ū·ḵə·šōḏ mi·šad·day. Both words (says Patterson) have the same root, shadad, indicating violence and overwhelming force. This ripple of words, like "shattered by Shadai" (Patterson, p. 243) is intended to be memorable to the Hebrew listener.
Joel 1:19-20, Only you, YHWH
To you, O LORD, I call,
for fire has devoured the open pastures
and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
Even the wild animals pant for you;
the streams of water have dried up
and fire has devoured the open pastures.
Joel ends this introductory chapter with a call to YHWH, explaining to God what has happened; even the wild animals "pant" for God, as the streams have dried up and the open pastures burned.
The Hebrew word araq, translated "pant" by the NIV, occurs only three times in the Old Testament (says Patterson.) The other two times are in Psalm 42:1, where it is David who pants after God. In all three cases, the picture is of a thirsty animal seeking water.
The horrible locust plague becomes something more in the next chapter.
First published June 23, 2025; updated June 23, 2025
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