Bible Strands
Joel 1:11
Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Joel addresses farmers and vinedressers during a sudden agricultural collapse that has left the field ruined and the land mourning. He issues this command immediately after detailing the destruction of grain, wine, and oil in Joel 1:10.
The words — The Hebrew הֹבִ֣ישׁוּ (ho.Vi.shu) literally means "be ashamed" or "be dismayed," and הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ (hei.Li.lu) means "wail." Joel pairs these commands with the agricultural classes אִכָּרִים ('i.ka.Rim) and כֹּֽרְמִ֔ים (ko.re.Mim) to specify who must mourn the loss of wheat (חִטָּ֖ה chi.Tah) and barley (שְׂעֹרָ֑ה se.'o.Rah).
The thread — This pattern of agricultural ruin mirroring divine judgment runs through Jeremiah 14:3, where servants return from cisterns with empty jars, and Isaiah 17:11, which states that a planted harvest will vanish despite human effort. The same theme of crop failure and dried-up joy continues in Joel 1:12 with the withering of orchard trees.
Why it lands — The text commands those who depend on agricultural labor to recognize their helplessness when the harvest perishes. It requires readers to acknowledge that human industry yields nothing when the provision is removed.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 14:3 The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- Isaiah 17:11 though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout—yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
- Jeremiah 9:12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
- Amos 5:16 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.
- Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.