Joel 1:16 (DBY)

Passage

Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Nearby Context

Joel 1:14 Hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, gather the elders, [and] all the inhabitants of the land to 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, joy and gladness from the house of our God?

Joel 1:17 The seeds are rotten under their clods, the granaries are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

Joel 1:18 How do the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are bewildered, for they have no pasture; the flocks of sheep also are in suffering.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "food", "before", "eyes", "gladness", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "food" and "before", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Alas for the day for the day..." into verse 17's "The seeds are rotten under their clods...", so "food" and "before" 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 "food" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.