Joel 1:16 (KJV)

Passage

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

Nearby Context

Joel 1:14 Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD.

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

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

Joel 1:17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners 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 perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "meat", "before", "eyes", "gladness", and "house". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "meat" 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 seed is rotten under their clods...", so "meat" 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 "meat" and "before" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.