Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare, O Jehovah, thy people, and give not thine inheritance to reproach, that they should be a byword of the nations. Wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly;
Joel 2:16 gather the people, hallow the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride from her closet.
Joel 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare, O Jehovah, thy people, and give not thine inheritance to reproach, that they should be a byword of the nations. Wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?
Joel 2:18 Then Jehovah will be jealous for his land, and will have pity on his people.
Joel 2:19 And Jehovah will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I send you corn, and new wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
The verse centers on "priests", "ministers", "jehovah", "weep", "between", "porch", "altar", and "spare". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "priests" and "ministers", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 16's "gather the people hallow the congregation assemble..." into verse 18's "Then Jehovah will be jealous for his...", so "priests" and "ministers" 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 "priests" and "ministers" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.