To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
- KJV O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.
- NKJV O Lord, to You I cry out; For fire has devoured the open pastures, And a flame has burned all the trees of the field.
- NASB To You, Lord, I cry out; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
- NLT Lord, help us! The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures, and flames have burned up all the trees.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joel himself cries out to Yahweh as fire has consumed the pastures and trees. The prophet models turning to God in the midst of disaster.
Overview
Joel turns from describing the calamity to praying directly to God, lamenting that fire, likely drought and scorching heat accompanying the locusts, has devoured the wilderness pastures and trees. In crying to Yahweh, the prophet shows that the right response to judgment is to seek the very God whose hand has fallen. His prayer leads the people by example toward dependence on the Lord's mercy.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Jer 9:10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
- Ps 50:15Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Amos 7:4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
- Mic 7:7But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- Joel 2:3Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland—surely nothing will escape them.
- Hab 3:17–18Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
- Ps 91:15When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
- Luke 18:1Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray at all times and not lose heart:
- Phil 4:6–7Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.
How Joel 1:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.