Joel 1:18 (ASV)

Passage

How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

Nearby Context

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

Joel 1:17 The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered.

Joel 1:18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

Joel 1:19 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.

Joel 1:20 Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "beasts", "groan", "herds", "cattle", "perplexed", "pasture", and "flocks". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "sheep" and "beasts", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "The seeds rot under their clods the..." into verse 19's "O Jehovah to thee do I cry...", so "sheep" and "beasts" 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 "sheep" and "beasts" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.