Joel 1:14 (ASV)

Passage

Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.

Nearby Context

Joel 1:12 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.

Joel 1:13 Gird yourselves [with sackcloth], and lament, ye priests; wail, ye ministers of the altar; come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meal-offering and the drink-offering are withholden from the house of your God.

Joel 1:14 Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men [and] all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Joel 1:16 Is not the food cut off before our eyes, [yea], joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sanctify", "fast", "call", "solemn", "assembly", "gather", "inhabitants", and "land". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sanctify" and "fast", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Gird yourselves with sackcloth and lament ye..." into verse 15's "Alas for the day for the day...", so "sanctify" and "fast" belong inside that flow. In Joel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "sanctify" and "fast" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.