Joel 1:17-19

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Joel 1:17 tn Heb “seed.” The phrase “the grains of” does not appear in the Hebrew but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.
2. Joel 1:17 tc This line is textually uncertain. The MT reads, “the seed shrivels in their shovels/clods.” One Qumran manuscript (4QXXII^c) reads, “the heifers decay in [their] s[talls].” LXX reads, “the heifers leap in their stalls.”tn These two lines of v. 17 comprise only four words in the Hebrew; three of the four are found only here in the OT. The translation and meaning are rather uncertain. A number of English versions render the word translated “shovels” as “clods,” referring to lumps of soil (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
3. Joel 1:18 tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”
4. Joel 1:18 tn Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ (bukh, “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3).
5. Joel 1:19 tn The phrase “for help” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
6. Joel 1:19 sn Fire here and in v. 20 is probably not to be understood in a literal sense. The locust plague, accompanied by conditions of extreme drought, has left the countryside looking as though everything has been burned up (so also in Joel 2:3).
7. Joel 1:19 tn Heb “consumed.” This entire line is restated at the end of v. 20.
8. Joel 1:19 tn Heb “a flame has set ablaze.” This fire was one of the effects of the drought.