Joel 1 · Verse 12

Joel 1:12

The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Joel 1:12, King James Version

Joel 1:12 in other translations

BSB	The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple— all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.
WEB	The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered— the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.
ASV	The vine is withered, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field are withered: for joy is withered away from the sons of men.
YLT	The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons of men.
DARBY	The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm also and the apple-tree; all the trees of the field are withered, yea, joy is withered away from the children of men.
BBE	The vine has become dry and the fig-tree is feeble; the pomegranate and the palm-tree and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are dry: because joy has gone from the sons of men.
Webster	The vine is dried up, and the fig-tree languisheth; the pomegranate-tree, the palm-tree also, and the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

What does Joel 1:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

12. pomegranate--a tree straight in the stem growing twenty feet high; the fruit is of the size of an orange, with blood-red colored pulp. palm tree--The dates of Palestine were famous. The palm is the symbol of Judea on coins under the Roman emperor Vespasian. It often grows a hundred feet high. apple tree--The Hebrew is generic, including the orange, lemon, and pear tree. joy is withered away--such as is felt in the harvest and the vintage seasons (Psa 4:7; Is 9:3).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 12 The vine is dried up - Dr. Shaw observes that in Barbary, in the month of June, the locusts collect themselves into compact bodies a furlong or more square, and march on, eating up every thing that is green or juicy, and letting nothing escape them, whether vegetables or trees. They destroy the pomegranate, the palm, the apple, (תפוח tappuach, the citron tree), the vine, the fig, and every tree of the field. See the note on Joe 2:2 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joel 1:8-13

All who labour only for the meat that perishes, will, sooner or later, be ashamed of their labour. Those that place their happiness in the delights of sense, when deprived of them, or disturbed in the enjoyment, lose their joy; whereas spiritual joy then flourishes more than ever. See what perishing, uncertain things our creature-comforts are. See how we need to live in continual dependence upon God and his…

Read the full comment on Joel 1:8-13 →

Joel 1:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

הַגֶּ֣פֶןha.Ge.fenthe vineH1612

הוֹבִ֔ישָׁהho.Vi.shahit has dried upH954

וְהַתְּאֵנָ֖הve.ha.te.'e.Nahand the fig treeH8384

אֻמְלָ֑לָה'um.La.lahit has dried outH535

רִמּ֞וֹןri.Mon[the] pomegranate treeH7416

גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571

תָּמָ֣רta.Mar[the] palm treeH8558

וְתַפּ֗וּחַve.ta.Pu.achand [the] apple treeH8598

כָּל\־kol-allH3605

עֲצֵ֤י'a.Tzei[the] trees ofH6086

הַשָּׂדֶה֙ha.sa.Dehthe fieldH7704

יָבֵ֔שׁוּya.Ve.shuthey have dried upH3001

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588

הֹבִ֥ישׁho.Vishit has been ashamedH954

שָׂשׂ֖וֹןsa.SonjoyH8342

מִן\־min-fromH4480

בְּנֵ֥יbe.Nei[the] children ofH1121

אָדָֽם\׃\ \ס'a.DamhumankindH120

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joel 1:12

Isaiah 24:11
There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.
Isaiah 16:10
And gladness is taken away, and joy out of the plentiful field; and in the vineyards there shall be no singing, neither shall there be shouting: the treaders shall tread out no wine in their presses; I have made their vintage shouting to cease.
Joel 1:16
Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God?
Habakkuk 3:17-18
Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Song of Solomon 2:3
As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Joel 1:10
The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
Hosea 9:1-2
Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor. The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.
Jeremiah 48:33
And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting.
Song of Solomon 4:13
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard,
Jeremiah 48:3
A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
Psalms 4:7
Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.
Isaiah 9:3
Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

The vine.Dr. Shaw observes, that in Barbary, in the month of June the locusts are no sooner hatched than they collect themselves into compact bodies, each a "furlong or more square; and marching directly after they are come to life, make their way towards the sea and let nothing escape them, eating up everything that is green or juicy; not only the lesser vegetables, but the vine likewise, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field."
10; Hab 3:17,18
the pomegranate.
Nu 13:23; Ps 92:12; So 2:3; 4:13; 7:7-9
joy.
16; Ps 4:7; Isa 9:3; 16:10; 24:11; Jer 48:3; Ho 9:1,2

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Joel 1:11
Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.
Joel 1:12
The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.
Joel 1:13
Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

Read all of Joel 1

Joel 1:12 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Secóse la vid, y pereció la higuera, el granado también, la palma, y el manzano; secáronse todos los árboles del campo; por lo cual se secó el gozo de los hijos de los hombres.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	La vigne est honteuse, et le figuier languit, – le grenadier, le palmier aussi, et le pommier; tous les arbres des champs sont desséchés; car la joie est tarie du milieu des fils des hommes.
German Elberfelder 1871	der Weinstock ist verdorrt und der Feigenbaum verwelkt; Granate, auch Palme und Apfelbaum, alle Bäume des Feldes sind verdorrt; ja, verdorrt ist die Freude von den Menschenkindern. -
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Vinea confusa est, et ficus elanguit; malogranatum, et palma, et malum, et omnia ligna agri aruerunt, quia confusum est gaudium a filiis hominum.