Joel 1:8 (YLT)

Passage

Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.

Nearby Context

Joel 1:6 For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth <FI>are<Fi> the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

Joel 1:7 It hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches.

Joel 1:8 Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth.

Joel 1:9 Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah.

Joel 1:10 Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "wail", "virgin", "girdeth", "sackcloth", "husband", and "youth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "wail" and "virgin", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "It hath made my vine become a..." into verse 9's "Cut off hath been present and libation...", so "wail" and "virgin" 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 "wail" and "virgin" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.