Joel 1:18 (GNV)

Passage

How did the beasts mourne! the herdes of cattel pine away, because they haue no pasture, and the flockes of sheepe are destroyed.

Nearby Context

Joel 1:16 Is not the meate cut off before our eyes? and ioy, and gladnesse from the house of our God?

Joel 1:17 The seede is rotten vnder their cloddes: the garners are destroyed: the barnes are broken downe, for the corne is withered.

Joel 1:18 How did the beasts mourne! the herdes of cattel pine away, because they haue no pasture, and the flockes of sheepe are destroyed.

Joel 1:19 O Lord, to thee will I crie: for the fire hath deuoured the pastures of the wildernesse, and the flame hath burnt vp all the trees of the fielde.

Joel 1:20 The beasts of the fielde cry also vnto thee: for the riuers of waters are dried vp, and the fire hath deuoured the pastures of the wildernes.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "sheep", "beasts", "mourne", "herdes", "cattel", "pine", "away", and "haue". 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 seede is rotten vnder their cloddes..." into verse 19's "O Lord to thee will I crie...", 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.