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.

JOEL 1:19KJV
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Joel 1:19 (KJV)

What does Joel 1:19 mean?

Joel 1:19 describes the prophet Joel crying out to the LORD because fire has destroyed the wilderness pastures and burned all the trees in the fields. The verse expresses deep distress over a disaster that has devastated the land, leaving nothing untouched.

Joel himself is speaking directly to God, using vivid language to describe a scene of total ruin. The situation is a time of crisis, likely after a locust plague and drought, where even the wild places and trees—usually symbols of life and provision—are consumed by fire. Joel’s cry shows both the severity of the disaster and his dependence on God for help.

The Hebrew behind Joel 1:19

  • LORD (יְהוָה, Yahweh): This is the personal name for God, emphasizing a direct, covenant relationship. Joel’s appeal is not generic but directed to the God of Israel.
  • cry (קָרָא, qara): This word often means to call out for help or intervention, showing Joel’s urgent plea in a desperate situation.
  • fire (אֵשׁ, esh) and flame (לֶהָבָה, lehabah): Both words highlight the intensity of destruction. "Fire" is a general term, while "flame" adds a sense of consuming heat, stressing that the devastation is thorough and severe.
  • pastures (נָאָה, na'ah): This refers to grassy places where animals graze. The loss of pastures means not just loss of crops, but also of food for livestock, underlining the total impact on the land.

Why Joel 1:19 matters

  • Joel 1:19 clarifies that the disaster affects not only crops but the entire ecosystem—fields, wild pastures, and trees—showing the scale of the crisis.
  • The verse emphasizes that even in overwhelming loss, the right response is to turn to God, highlighting a theme of dependence and prayer in hardship.
  • Joel’s language connects the physical devastation to a spiritual need, preparing the reader for the book’s later calls to repentance and hope.

Where else these words appear

“burned” Hebrew H3857 · used in 11 verses

  • Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
  • Psalms 83:14 As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;
  • Psalms 106:18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

“pastures” Hebrew H4999 · used in 12 verses

  • Psalms 23:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
  • Psalms 83:12 Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.
  • Lamentations 2:2 The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath not pitied: he hath thrown down in his wrath the strong holds of the daughter of Judah; he hath brought them down to the ground: he hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof.

“flame” Hebrew H3852 · used in 19 verses

  • Numbers 21:28 For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
  • Isaiah 4:5 And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence.
  • Lamentations 2:3 He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about.