Joel 1:17
New International Version
The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods. The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down, for the grain has dried up.

New Living Translation
The seeds die in the parched ground, and the grain crops fail. The barns stand empty, and granaries are abandoned.

English Standard Version
The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up.

Berean Standard Bible
The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.

King James Bible
The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

New King James Version
The seed shrivels under the clods, Storehouses are in shambles; Barns are broken down, For the grain has withered.

New American Standard Bible
The seeds have dried up under their shovels; The storehouses have become desolate, The grain silos are ruined, Because the grain has dried up.

NASB 1995
The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.

NASB 1977
The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns are torn down, For the grain is dried up.

Legacy Standard Bible
The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate; The barns are pulled down, For the grain is dried up.

Amplified Bible
The seeds [of grain] shrivel under the clods, The storehouses are desolate and empty, The barns are in ruins Because the grain is dried up.

Christian Standard Bible
The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has withered away.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The storehouses are in ruin, and the granaries are broken down, because the grain has withered away.

American Standard Version
The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the grain is withered.

Contemporary English Version
Seeds dry up in the ground; no harvest is possible. Our barns are in bad shape, with no grain to store in them.

English Revised Version
The seeds rot under their clods; the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Seeds shrivel up in their shells. Storehouses are destroyed. Barns are ruined. The grain has dried up.

Good News Translation
The seeds die in the dry earth. There is no grain to be stored, and so the empty granaries are in ruins.

International Standard Version
Seeds shrivel within their furrows, the storehouses lie empty, and granaries stand in ruins because the grain has withered.

Majority Standard Bible
The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away.

NET Bible
The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels. Storehouses have been decimated and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.

New Heart English Bible
The seeds shrivel under their shovels. The storehouses are laid desolate. The granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered.

Webster's Bible Translation
The seed hath perished under their clods, the granaries are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

World English Bible
The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Scattered things have rotted under their clods, "" Storehouses have been desolated, "" Granaries have been broken down, "" For the grain has withered.

Young's Literal Translation
Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn.

Smith's Literal Translation
The kernels died beneath the clods, the treasures were laid waste, the garners were pulled down, for the grain was dried up.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The beasts have rotted in their dung, the barns are destroyed, the storehouses are broken down: because the corn is confounded.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The mules have rotted in their own manure, the barns have been demolished, the wine cellars have been destroyed, because the grain has been ruined.

New American Bible
The seed lies shriveled beneath clods of dirt; the storehouses are emptied. The granaries are broken down, for the grain is dried up.

New Revised Standard Version
The seed shrivels under the clods, the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are ruined because the grain has failed.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The cows languish at their mangers, the granaries are laid waste, the winepresses are thrown down, and the grain is dried up.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And heifers were roasted at their stables; they have ravaged storehouses and destroyed the winepresses and dried up the grain
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The grains shrivel under their hoes; The garners are laid desolate, The barns are broken down; For the corn is withered.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The heifers have started at their mangers, the treasures are abolished, the wine-presses are broken down; for the corn is withered.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Call to Repentance
16Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes—joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods; the storehouses are in ruins; the granaries are broken down, for the grain has withered away. 18How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.…

Cross References
Haggai 1:10-11
Therefore, on account of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth has withheld its crops. / I have summoned a drought on the fields and on the mountains, on the grain, new wine, and oil, and on whatever the ground yields, on man and beast, and on all the labor of your hands.”

Amos 4:6-9
“I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. / “I also withheld the rain from you when the harvest was three months away. I sent rain on one city but withheld it from another. One field received rain; another without rain withered. / People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD. ...

Isaiah 17:10-11
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines— / though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout—yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.

Jeremiah 14:2-4
“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. / The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. / The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

Ezekiel 19:12
But it was uprooted in fury, cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up its fruit. Its strong branches were stripped off and they withered; the fire consumed them.

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. ...

Isaiah 24:7
The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

Hosea 2:9-12
Therefore I will take back My grain in its time and My new wine in its season; I will take away My wool and linen, which were given to cover her nakedness. / And then I will expose her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and no one will deliver her out of My hands. / I will put an end to all her exultation: her feasts, New Moons, and Sabbaths—all her appointed feasts. ...

Lamentations 4:9
Those slain by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, who waste away, pierced with pain because the fields lack produce.

Zechariah 8:10
For before those days neither man nor beast received wages, nor was there safety from the enemy for anyone who came or went, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.

Matthew 13:6
But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Mark 4:6
But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Luke 8:6
Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture.

Romans 8:20-22
For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope / that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. / We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

James 5:17-18
Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. / Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops.


Treasury of Scripture

The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.

seed.

Genesis 23:16
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron; and Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the audience of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current money with the merchant.

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Barns Beneath Broken Clods Corn Desolate Dried Dry Failed Garners Grain Grains Granaries Hoes Laid Perished Rot Rotten Ruined Seed Seeds Shrivel Shriveled Small Spade Storehouses Store-Houses Torn Waste Withered
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Barns Beneath Broken Clods Corn Desolate Dried Dry Failed Garners Grain Grains Granaries Hoes Laid Perished Rot Rotten Ruined Seed Seeds Shrivel Shriveled Small Spade Storehouses Store-Houses Torn Waste Withered
Joel 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.














The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods;
This phrase reflects a time of severe drought and agricultural failure. In the agrarian society of ancient Israel, seeds were vital for sustenance and future harvests. The imagery of seeds shriveling beneath the clods indicates a lack of moisture and fertility, symbolizing spiritual barrenness and judgment. This can be connected to the covenant curses in Deuteronomy 28:23-24, where disobedience leads to drought and famine. The shriveled seeds also serve as a metaphor for the spiritual state of the people, who have turned away from God and are experiencing the consequences of their actions.

the storehouses are in ruins;
Storehouses were essential for storing surplus grain and other produce, ensuring food security during times of scarcity. The ruin of these structures signifies not only physical devastation but also economic collapse and insecurity. This reflects the broader theme of divine judgment throughout the book of Joel, where the land's desolation mirrors the spiritual desolation of the people. The destruction of storehouses can be seen as a fulfillment of prophetic warnings, such as those found in Haggai 1:6, where neglecting God's house leads to economic hardship.

the granaries are broken down,
Granaries were used to protect and preserve the harvest. Their breakdown indicates a complete loss of resources and the inability to sustain life. This imagery underscores the severity of the locust plague and drought described in Joel, serving as a call to repentance. The broken granaries symbolize the futility of relying on material wealth and human efforts without God's blessing. This can be compared to the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21, where storing up earthly treasures without being rich toward God leads to ruin.

for the grain has withered away.
The withering of grain represents the culmination of the agricultural disaster. Grain was a staple food, and its loss meant famine and starvation. This phrase highlights the direct impact of the locust plague and drought on the people's livelihood. It serves as a reminder of the dependence on God's provision and the consequences of turning away from Him. The withered grain can also be seen as a type of Christ, who is the true Bread of Life (John 6:35). Just as the physical grain withers without water, spiritual life withers without Christ, emphasizing the need for spiritual renewal and reliance on Him.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Joel
The 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. Locust Plague
A devastating event described in Joel, symbolizing both a literal and a spiritual crisis.

4. Storehouses and Granaries
Structures used for storing grain, representing the economic and agricultural stability of Judah.

5. Seeds and Grain
Essential elements for sustenance and growth, symbolizing potential and provision.
Teaching Points
Spiritual Drought
Just as physical seeds can shrivel, so can spiritual seeds if neglected. We must nurture our spiritual lives through prayer, study, and obedience.

Consequences of Disobedience
The withering of grain and destruction of storehouses serve as a reminder of the consequences of turning away from God.

Restoration and Hope
While Joel describes devastation, the book also promises restoration for those who repent and return to God.

Dependence on God
The failure of human efforts (storehouses and granaries) highlights our need to rely on God for provision and sustenance.

Community Responsibility
The communal impact of the locust plague reminds us of our responsibility to support and uplift one another in times of crisis.(17) The corn is withered.--The results of the terrible drought, coincident with the ravages of the locusts, are now described. The ancient versions present difficulty and variety in the exact rendering of this verse, owing to several words occurring in it being not found elsewhere in Holy Scripture. On the whole the English text seems correct and satisfactory.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The seeds
פְרֻד֗וֹת (p̄ə·ru·ḏō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 6507: Something separated, a kernel

lie shriveled
עָבְשׁ֣וּ (‘ā·ḇə·šū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 5685: To shrivel

beneath
תַּ֚חַת (ta·ḥaṯ)
Preposition
Strong's 8478: The bottom, below, in lieu of

the clods;
מֶגְרְפֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם (meḡ·rə·p̄ō·ṯê·hem)
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4053: Something thrown off, a clod

the storehouses
אֹֽצָר֔וֹת (’ō·ṣā·rō·wṯ)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 214: Treasure, store, a treasury, storehouse

are in ruins;
נָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙ (nā·šam·mū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 8074: To stun, devastate, stupefy

the granaries
מַמְּגֻר֑וֹת (mam·mə·ḡu·rō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 4460: Granary, storehouse

are broken down,
נֶהֶרְס֖וּ (ne·her·sū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 2040: To pull down, in pieces, break, & destroy

for
כִּ֥י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the grain
דָּגָֽן׃ (dā·ḡān)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1715: Corn, grain (of cereals)

has withered away.
הֹבִ֖ישׁ (hō·ḇîš)
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3001: To be ashamed, confused, disappointed, to dry up, wither


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OT Prophets: Joel 1:17 The seeds rot under their clods (Jl Joe.)
Joel 1:16
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