New International Version It has laid waste my vines and ruined my fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and thrown it away, leaving their branches white. New Living Translation It has destroyed my grapevines and ruined my fig trees, stripping their bark and destroying it, leaving the branches white and bare. English Standard Version It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. Berean Standard Bible It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white. Berean Literal Bible He has set My vine to waste, and My fig tree to splinter; he has thoroughly stripped off the bark and thrown it away, its branches have become white. King James Bible He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. New King James Version He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white. New American Standard Bible It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree a stump. It has stripped them bare and hurled them away; Their branches have become white. NASB 1995 It has made my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white. NASB 1977 It has made my vine a waste, And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white. Legacy Standard Bible It has made my vine a desolation And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; Their branches have become white. Amplified Bible It has made My vine (My people) a waste and object of horror, And splintered and broken My fig tree. It has stripped them completely bare and thrown them away; Their branches have become white. Berean Annotated Bible It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white. Christian Standard Bible It has devastated my grapevine and splintered my fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white. Holman Christian Standard Bible It has devastated My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off its bark and thrown it away; its branches have turned white. American Standard Version He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. Contemporary English Version Our grapevines and fig trees are stripped bare; only naked branches remain. English Revised Version He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. GOD'S WORD® Translation They destroyed my grapevines. They ruined my fig trees. They stripped off what they could eat, threw the rest away, and left the branches bare. Good News Translation They have destroyed our grapevines and chewed up our fig trees. They have stripped off the bark, till the branches are white. International Standard Version That nation laid waste my vines, and stripped bare my fig tree, discarding it. It stripped off its bark. NET Bible They have destroyed our vines; they have turned our fig trees into mere splinters. They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown them aside; the twigs are stripped bare. New Heart English Bible He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white. Webster's Bible Translation He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig-tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; its branches are made white. Majority Text Translations Majority Standard BibleIt has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white. World English Bible He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionIt has made My vine become a desolation, "" And My fig tree become a splinter, "" It has made it thoroughly bare, and has cast down, "" Its branches have been made white. Berean Literal Bible He has set My vine to waste, and My fig tree to splinter; he has thoroughly stripped off the bark and thrown it away, its branches have become white. Young's Literal Translation 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. Smith's Literal Translation He set my vine for destruction, and my fig tree for breaking: he stripped off its covering and cast away; and its shoots were whitened. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleHe hath laid my vineyard waste, and hath pilled off the bark of my fig tree: he hath stripped it bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. Catholic Public Domain Version He has put my vineyard into desolation, and he has pulled off the bark of my fig tree. He has stripped it bare and cast it away; its branches have become white. New American Bible It has stripped bare my vines, splintered my fig tree, Shearing off its bark and throwing it away, until its branches turn white. New Revised Standard Version It has laid waste my vines, and splintered my fig trees; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches have turned white. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleHe has laid my vine waste, and has cut off my fig tree and thrown it away; the branches thereof are made white. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated It made my vine into a desolation and my fig tree into a ruin; it has torn it down and has cast it away and its branches are white OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917He hath laid my vine waste, And blasted my fig-tree; He hath made it clean bare, and cast it down, The branches thereof are made white. Brenton Septuagint Translation He has ruined my vine, and utterly broken my fig-trees: he has utterly searched my vine, and cast it down; he has peeled its branches. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible (Voice ▾ Musical ▾) Context The Invasion of Locusts…6For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. 7It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white. Cross References It has laid waste My grapevine Hosea 2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees, which she thinks are the wages paid by her lovers. So I will make them into a thicket, and the beasts of the field will devour them. Psalm 105:33 He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their country. Psalm 80:8-16 You uprooted a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and transplanted it. / You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. / The mountains were covered by its shade, and the mighty cedars with its branches. … and splintered My fig tree. Matthew 21:19-20 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered. / When the disciples saw this, they marveled and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” Luke 13:6-9 Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. / So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ / ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone again this year, until I dig around it and fertilize it. … Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater! It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; Exodus 10:12-15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt, so that the locusts may swarm over it and devour every plant in the land—everything that the hail has left behind.” / So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and throughout that day and night the LORD sent an east wind across the land. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. / The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be. … Psalm 105:34-35 He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number. / They devoured every plant in their land and consumed the produce of their soil. Deuteronomy 28:38-42 You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little, because the locusts will consume it. / You will plant and cultivate vineyards, but will neither drink the wine nor gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. / You will have olive trees throughout your territory but will never anoint yourself with oil, because the olives will drop off. … the branches have turned white. Genesis 30:37-39 Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees, and peeled the bark, exposing the white inner wood of the branches. / Then he set the peeled branches in the watering troughs in front of the flocks coming in to drink. So when the flocks were in heat and came to drink, / they mated in front of the branches. And they bore young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. Numbers 12:10 As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous, Ecclesiastes 12:5 when men fear the heights and dangers of the road, when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry shrivels—for then man goes to his eternal home and mourners walk the streets. Isaiah 5:6 I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.” Jeremiah 5:10 Go up through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not finish them off. Strip off her branches, for they do not belong to the LORD. Amos 4:9 “I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. Isaiah 24:7 The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan. Treasury of Scripture He has laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he has made it clean bore, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. laid. 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. Exodus 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. Psalm 105:33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts. barked my fig-tree. Jump to Previous Bare Bark Blasted Branches Broken Cast Clean Desolation Earth Fig Fig-Tree Fruit Laid Splintered Splinters Stripped Thereof Thrown Tree Trees Vine Vines Waste WhiteJump to Next Bare Bark Blasted Branches Broken Cast Clean Desolation Earth Fig Fig-Tree Fruit Laid Splintered Splinters Stripped Thereof Thrown Tree Trees Vine Vines Waste WhiteJoel 1 1. Joel, declaring various judgments of God, exhorts to observe them,8. and to mourn. 14. He prescribes a solemn fast to deprecate those judgments. It has laid waste My grapevine The invading locusts had ruined Judah’s vineyards, destroying a major source of food and wine. The devastation of what the Lord calls “My” vine shows that the land and its produce belonged to Him and that the disaster came under His judgment. Hos 2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees… and splintered My fig tree. Fig trees supplied an important staple and were associated with settled prosperity in the land. Their destruction left the nation without both harvest and hope of near recovery. Mat 21:19-20 Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it… It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; The locusts consumed even the bark, leaving the trees exposed and severely damaged. What remained was no longer capable of bearing fruit without time and restoration. Exo 10:12-15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand… the branches have turned white. The whitened branches pictured trees stripped bare of bark and life, standing as visible evidence of the land’s desolation. The judgment was thorough, affecting vineyards, orchards, worship offerings, and daily provision. Gen 30:37-39 Jacob, however, took fresh branches of poplar, almond… Persons / Places / Events 1. JoelThe prophet who authored the book, delivering God's message to the people of Judah. 2. Judah The southern kingdom of Israel, the primary audience of Joel's prophecy. 3. The Locust Plague A devastating event symbolizing judgment and destruction, often interpreted as a literal plague or a metaphor for invading armies. 4. The Vine and Fig Tree Symbolic representations of Israel's prosperity and spiritual state. 5. God The speaker in the verse, expressing His judgment and lament over the destruction. Teaching Points Symbolism of the Vine and Fig TreeThe vine and fig tree are often used in Scripture to symbolize Israel's spiritual health and prosperity. Their destruction signifies a severe spiritual decline and the consequences of turning away from God. Consequences of Sin The stripping of the vine and fig tree's bark represents the stripping away of blessings and protection due to sin and disobedience. It serves as a warning to remain faithful to God. Call to Repentance The vivid imagery of destruction is a call to repentance. Just as the people of Judah were urged to turn back to God, we too must examine our lives and repent of anything that separates us from Him. God's Sovereignty in Judgment The passage reminds us of God's sovereignty and His right to judge His people. It encourages us to trust in His righteous judgment and seek His mercy. Hope for Restoration While the imagery is bleak, it also points to the possibility of restoration. God’s judgments are often followed by promises of renewal for those who repent and return to Him. Bible Study Questions and Answers 1. What is the meaning of Joel 1:7?2. How does Joel 1:7 illustrate the consequences of turning away from God? 3. What lessons can we learn from the devastation described in Joel 1:7? 4. How does Joel 1:7 connect to God's warnings in Deuteronomy 28:38-42? 5. In what ways can we prevent spiritual "vineyard" destruction in our lives? 6. How can we restore what has been "laid waste" by sin, as in Joel 1:7? 7. What historical events might Joel 1:7 be referencing with the destruction of the vine and fig tree? 8. How does Joel 1:7 reflect God's judgment and its implications for believers today? 9. What is the significance of the vine and fig tree imagery in Joel 1:7? 10. What are the top 10 Lessons from Joel 1? (7) My vine.--This expression might well captivate the Jewish ear. God appropriates to Himself this land on which the trouble was, by His providence, to fall, and in wrath remembers mercy. It is "my vine," "my fig-tree," the people of God's own choice, that were afflicted; and the affliction, however fully deserved, was, to speak as a man, painful to the Lord, "who doth not afflict willingly." Yet the devastation was to be complete. God's pleasant vine was doomed, and the fig-tree was to be cut down.Verse 7. - He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree (margin, laid my fig tree for a barking): he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. We have here a detailed description of the destruction and devastation caused by this locust-army in its invasion of the land of Judah. The most valuable and most valued production of that land, the vine and fig tree, are ruined. The vine is laid waste, so that the vineyard becomes a wilderness: (1) "he has barked the fig tree" (so Jerome, "Ficum meam decorticavit"); or rather, (2) "he has broken the branches." The word קְצָפָח denotes a fragment or something broken, branches broken off, and so the LXX., "hath utterly broken (εἰς συγκλασμόν);" while (3) Aben Ezra explains it, "Like foam on the face of the water, in which there is nothing;" i.e. a thing of nought. The locusts, by gnawing, had stripped off the bark, or by their excessive weight had broken off the branches. The next clause, which speaks of making it clean bare, is explained by the Chaldee of peeling off the bark, but that, according to the first rendering, has been already expressed. It is rather more than this - it is stripping off the leaves and fruits or flowers; the barked or broken branches and twigs of vine and fig tree are then cast away or down to the ground. And all that is left are the whitened branches from which the bark has been stripped off. The casting away or down to the earth may refer to the bark; thus Kimchi: "He removes the bark; and so Jonathan explains, 'He quite removes the bark and casts it away;' and the explanation is that he casts the bark to the earth when he eats the juicy parts between the bark and the wood; or the explanation may be that he eats the rind and casts the vine blossom to the earth, and, lo, it is bared." Some, again, understand it of what is uneatable, and others of the vine itself. Joel 1:7 paints a vivid picture of God’s own vine and fig tree—symbols of His covenant people—reduced to lifeless, bark-stripped sticks. The literal locust plague reveals the spiritual consequences of persistent sin: blessing withdrawn, protection removed, and fruitfulness lost. Yet the severity of the judgment also prepares hearts for the promise of restoration when the people return to the Lord.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew It has laidשָׂ֤ם (śām) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set waste לְשַׁמָּ֔ה (lə·šam·māh) Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 8047: Ruin, consternation My grapevine גַּפְנִי֙ (gap̄·nî) Noun - common singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 1612: A vine, the grape and splintered לִקְצָפָ֑ה (liq·ṣā·p̄āh) Preposition-l | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 7111: Snapping, splintering My fig tree. וּתְאֵנָתִ֖י (ū·ṯə·’ê·nā·ṯî) Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular Strong's 8384: Of foreign derivation, the fig It has stripped off the bark חָשֹׂ֤ף (ḥā·śōp̄) Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute Strong's 2834: To strip off, to make naked, to drain away, bail up and thrown it away; וְהִשְׁלִ֔יךְ (wə·hiš·lîḵ) Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7993: To throw out, down, away the branches שָׂרִיגֶֽיהָ׃ (śā·rî·ḡe·hā) Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular Strong's 8299: Tendril, twig have turned white. הִלְבִּ֖ינוּ (hil·bî·nū) Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person common plural Strong's 3835: To be, white, to make bricks Additonal Resources Joel 1:7 Blue Letter BibleJoel 1:7 Bible Gateway Joel 1:7 Bible.com Joel 1:7 NIV |
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