Joel 1:19
in Joel 1To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O Jehovah, to thee do I cry; for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
KJV
O 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.
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This verse in Joel 1
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
O Lord, to Thee will I cry - This is the only hope left, and contains all hopes. From the Lord was the infliction; in Him is the healing. The prophet appeals to God by His own Name, the faithful Fulfiller of His promises, Him who Is, and who had promised to hear all who call upon Him. Let others call to their idols, if they would, or remain stupid and forgetful, the prophet would cry unto God, and that earnestly.
This site's exposition
O Lord, to thee will I cry
on Joel 1:19-20
The prophet's own prayer closes the chapter, O Lord, to thee will I cry, the first time in the book Joel speaks for himself rather than summoning others to lament. Fire joins drought as a second disaster, the pastures of the wilderness devoured by flame as well as by locust, which some commentators read as the same locust imagery intensified and others as an actual accompanying drought and fire. The beasts of the field crying unto God in verse 20 repeats verse 18's turn to the animals, ending the chapter on the whole created order's need, which chapter 2 will begin to answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 19, 20.) I will cry out to you, Lord, for the fire has consumed the beautiful things of the desert, and the flame has set all the wood of the region ablaze; even the beasts of the field, like a parched land thirsting for rain, have looked up to you; for the springs of water have dried up, and the fire has devoured the beautiful things of the desert.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
O Lord, to thee will I cry,....
This Joel was long after that. He here speaks of a sad and sore judgment which was now brought, or to be brought, upon Judah, for their sins. The greatness of the judgment, expressed here in two things:-- 1.
In time of trouble we must not only pray, but cry, must be fervent and importunate in prayer; and to God, from whom both the destruction is and the salvation must be, ought our cry to be always directed.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
to thee will I cry--Joel here interposes, As this people is insensible to shame or fear and will not hear, I will leave them and address myself directly to Thee (compare Isa 15:5; Jer 23:9). fire--that is, the parching heat. pastures--"grassy places"; from a Hebrew root "to be pleasant." Such places would be selected for "habitations" (Margin).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
O Lord, to thee will I cry - Let this calamity come as it may, we have sinned, and should humble ourselves before God; and it is such a calamity as God alone can remove, therefore unto him must we cry. The fire hath devoured the pastures - This may either refer to a drought, or to the effects of the locusts; as the ground, after they have passed over it, everywhere appears as if a sheet of flame had not only scorched, but consumed every thing.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵלֶ֥יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | O Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶקְרָ֑א | ʾekra' | I call | H7121 → | 733 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֵ֗שׁ | ʾesh | fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| אָֽכְלָה֙ | ʾakhelah | it has consumed | H398 → | 810 times |
| נְא֣וֹת | neot | [the] pastures of | H4999 → | 12 times |
| מִדְבָּ֔ר | midbar | [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| וְלֶ֣הָבָ֔ה | velehavah | and a flame | H3852 → | |
| לִהֲטָ֖ה | lihatah | it has set ablaze | H3857 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֲצֵ֥י | ʾatzei | [the] trees of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
אֵלֶ֥יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הO Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶקְרָ֑אI call
ʾekra'H7121 →733 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֵ֗שׁfire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
אָֽכְלָה֙it has consumed
ʾakhelahH398 →810 times
נְא֣וֹת[the] pastures of
neotH4999 →12 times
מִדְבָּ֔ר[the] wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
וְלֶ֣הָבָ֔הand a flame
velehavahH3852 →
לִהֲטָ֖הit has set ablaze
lihatahH3857 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֲצֵ֥י[the] trees of
ʾatzeiH6086 →328 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 107:28
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He brought them out of their distress.
- Psalms 91:15
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Psalms 34:3–4
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt His name together.
- Psalms 107:19
Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress.
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Psalms 107:28
Through
Micah 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
it leads to
- Lamentations 3:25–26
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
- Psalms 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Lamentations 3:25–26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Joel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.