Joel 1:11
in Joel 1Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be confounded, O ye husbandmen, wail, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field is perished.
KJV
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.
⋯
This verse in Joel 1
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Be . . . ashamed--that is, Ye shall have the shame of disappointment on account of the failure of "the wheat" and "barley . . . harvest." howl . . . vine dressers--The semicolon should follow, as it is the "husbandmen" who are to be "ashamed . . . for the wheat." The reason for the "vine dressers" being called to "howl" does not come till Joe 1:12, "The vine is dried up."
This site's exposition
Be dismayed, O farmers
on Joel 1:11-12
Farmers and vinedressers are told to wail "over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished". Verse 12 names the grapevine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the palm and the apple, then "all the trees of the orchard".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(V. 9 seqq.) The sacrifice and libation from the house of the Lord have perished; the priests, ministers of the Lord, mourn. The land is laid waste, the earth mourns; for the wheat is destroyed. The wine is spoiled, the oil languishes, the farmers are confused. The vintners wail over the wheat and barley, for the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, the fig tree languishes; the pomegranate, palm, and apple, all the trees of the field are dried up; because joy has been confounded among the sons of men.
Describing the calamity at greater length to bring to repentance those suffering from indifference, he bids even the produce to lament the failure of the barley and the wheat and the defoliation of the vine, and in general the lack of fruit on olives and …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
)-- the wheat and barley, the two principal grains bread was then made of, wheat for the rich and barley for the poor, so that the rich and poor meet together in the calamity. The trees are destroyed, not only the vine and the fig-tree (as before,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
The vine-dressers will then express their extreme grief by howling, when they see their vineyards stripped of leaves and fruit, and the vines withered, so that nothing is to be had or hoped for from them, wherewith they might pay their rent and maintain their families. The destruction is particularly described here: The field is laid waste (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
When we see the full corn in the ear, and think we are sure of it--nay, when we have brought it home, if he blow upon it, nay, if he do not bless it, we are not likely to have any good of it. See what ruinous work sin makes. A paradise is turned into a wilderness, a fruitful land, the most fruitful land upon earth, into barrenness, for the iniquity of those that dwelt therein.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Be ye ashamed, O ye farmers - The prophet dwells on and expands the description of the troubles which he had foretold, setting before their eyes the picture of one universal dessolation. For the details of sorrow most touch the heart, and he wished to move them to repentance. He pictures them to themselves; some standing aghast and ashamed of the fruitlessness of their toil others giving way to bursts of sorrow, and all things around waste and dried. Nothing was exempt.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֹבִ֣ישׁוּ | hovishu | be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| אִכָּרִ֗ים | ʾikarim | O farmers | H406 → | |
| הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙ | heililu | wail | H3213 → | 30 times |
| כֹּֽרְמִ֔ים | koremim | O vinedressers | H3755 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| חִטָּ֖ה | chitah | [the] wheat | H2406 → | |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שְׂעֹרָ֑ה | seorah | [the] barley | H8184 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָבַ֖ד | ʾavad | it has perished | H6 → | |
| קְצִ֥יר | ketzir | [the] harvest of | H7105 → | |
| שָׂדֶֽה׃ | sadeh | [the] field | H7704 → | 334 times |
הֹבִ֣ישׁוּbe ashamed
hovishuH954 →127 times
אִכָּרִ֗יםO farmers
ʾikarimH406 →
הֵילִ֙ילוּ֙wail
heililuH3213 →30 times
כֹּֽרְמִ֔יםO vinedressers
koremimH3755 →
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
חִטָּ֖ה[the] wheat
chitahH2406 →
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
שְׂעֹרָ֑ה[the] barley
seorahH8184 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אָבַ֖דit has perished
ʾavadH6 →
קְצִ֥יר[the] harvest of
ketzirH7105 →
שָׂדֶֽה׃[the] field
sadehH7704 →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
Romans 5:5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.
it leads to
- Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
- Ephesians 3:16–19
I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being,
- Philippians 1:20
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or…
- 2 Timothy 1:12
For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have…
- 2 Corinthians 1:22
placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
- Galatians 4:6
Through
Jeremiah 9:12Who 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…
it leads to
- Hosea 14:9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in…
- Hosea 14:9
Through
Isaiah 17:11though 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.
it leads to
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
On this chapter
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); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON JOEL 1:11–12.