Joel 1:16 (LSB)

Passage

Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God?

Nearby Context

Joel 1:14 Set apart a fast as holy, Call for a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land To the house of Yahweh your God, And cry out to Yahweh.

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Joel 1:16 Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of our God?

Joel 1:17 The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate; The barns are pulled down, For the grain is dried up.

Joel 1:18 How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer.

Study Lenses

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