Joel 1:4 (KJV)

Passage

That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

Nearby Context

Joel 1:2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

Joel 1:3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

Joel 1:4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

Joel 1:5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

Joel 1:6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "palmerworm", "hath", "left", "locust", and "eaten". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "palmerworm" and "hath", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Tell ye your children of it and..." into verse 5's "Awake ye drunkards and weep and howl...", so "palmerworm" and "hath" 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 "palmerworm" and "hath" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.