Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 26th, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

Easy-to-Read Version

Joel 1:20

Wild animals also need your help. The streams are dry—there is no water! Fire has changed our green fields into a desert.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Animals;   Famine;   Nation;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Beasts;   Fire;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Drought;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Joel;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Life;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Desert, Wilderness;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Famine;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cry, Crying;   Joel (2);   River;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Famine;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Even the wild animals cry out to you,for the river beds are dried up,and fire has consumedthe pastures of the wilderness.
Hebrew Names Version
Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, For the water brooks have dried up, And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
King James Version
The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
English Standard Version
Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
New American Standard Bible
Even the animals of the field pant for You; For the stream beds of water are dried up, And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
New Century Version
Wild animals also need your help. The streams of water have dried up, and fire has burned up the open pastures.
Amplified Bible
Even the wild animals pant [in longing] for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The beasts of the fielde cry also vnto thee: for the riuers of waters are dried vp, and the fire hath deuoured the pastures of the wildernes.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Even the beasts of the field pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Legacy Standard Bible
Even the beasts of the field pant for You;For the water brooks are dried up,And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
Berean Standard Bible
Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.
Contemporary English Version
Wild animals have no water because of you; rivers and streams are dry, and pastures are parched.
Complete Jewish Bible
Even the wild animals come to you, panting, because the streambeds have dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures in the desert."
Darby Translation
The beasts of the field also cry unto thee; for the water-courses are dried, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
George Lamsa Translation
Also the beasts of the field cry out to thee because the ponds of water are dried up, and the fire has devoured the camps of shepherds in the wilderness.
Good News Translation
Even the wild animals cry out to you because the streams have become dry.
Lexham English Bible
Also, the beasts of the field long for you, because the courses of water are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the desert.
Literal Translation
The beasts of the field also long for You, for the rivers of water are dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
American Standard Version
Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Bible in Basic English
The beasts of the field are turning to you with desire: for the water-streams are dry and fire has put an end to the grass-lands of the waste.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto Thee; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
King James Version (1611)
The beasts of the field crie also vnto thee: for the riuers of waters are dried vp, and the fire hath deuoured the pastures of the wildernesse.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The beastes also of the fielde crye out vnto thee: for the riuers of waters are dryed vp, and fire hath deuoured vp the fruitfull places of the desert.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the cattle of the field have looked up to thee: for the fountains of waters have been dried up, and fire has devoured the fair places of the wilderness.
English Revised Version
Yea, the beasts of the field pant unto thee: for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
World English Bible
Yes, the animals of the field pant to you, For the water brooks have dried up, And the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But also beestis of the feeld, as a corn floor thirstynge reyn, bihelden to thee; for the wellis of watris ben dried vp, and fier deuouride the faire thingis of desert.
Update Bible Version
Yes, the beasts of the field pant to you; for the water brooks are dried up, and the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Webster's Bible Translation
The beasts of the field cry also to thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
New English Translation
Even the wild animals cry out to you; for the river beds have dried up; fire has destroyed the grassy pastures.
New King James Version
The beasts of the field also cry out to You, For the water brooks are dried up, And fire has devoured the open pastures.
New Living Translation
Even the wild animals cry out to you because the streams have dried up, and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.
New Life Bible
Even the animals of the field cry to You. For the rivers are dried up, and fire has burned up the fields of the desert.
New Revised Standard
Even the wild animals cry to you because the watercourses are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Even the beasts of the field, moan unto thee, - because dried up are the channels of water, and, a fire, hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Douay-Rheims Bible
Yea, and the beasts of the field have looked up to thee, as a garden bed that thirsteth after rain, for the springs of waters are dried up, and fire hath devoured the beautiful places of the wilderness.
Revised Standard Version
Even the wild beasts cry to thee because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Young's Literal Translation
Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!'
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yee the wylde beestes crie also vnto the: for the water ryuers are dryed vp, and the fyre hath consumed the pastures of the wyldernesse.

Contextual Overview

14 Tell the people that there will be a special time of fasting. Call them together for a special meeting. Bring the leaders and everyone living in the land together at the Temple of the Lord your God, and pray to the Lord . 15 Be sad because the Lord 's special day is near. At that time punishment will come like an attack from God All-Powerful. 16 Our food is gone. Joy and happiness are gone from the Temple of our God. 17 We planted seeds, but the seeds became dry and dead lying in the soil. Our plants are dry and dead. Our barns are empty and falling down. 18 The animals are hungry and groaning. The herds of cattle wander around confused because they have no grass to eat. The sheep are dying. 19 Lord , I am calling to you for help. Fire has changed our green fields into a desert. Flames have burned all the trees in the field. 20 Wild animals also need your help. The streams are dry—there is no water! Fire has changed our green fields into a desert.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cry: Job 38:41, Psalms 104:21, Psalms 145:15, Psalms 147:9

the rivers: 1 Kings 17:7, 1 Kings 18:5

Reciprocal: Psalms 107:33 - turneth Jeremiah 14:3 - pits Jeremiah 14:4 - the ground Joel 1:18 - General Joel 2:3 - fire

Cross-References

Genesis 1:7
So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it.
Genesis 1:14
Then God said, "Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings begin and to show the days and years.
Genesis 1:22
God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
Genesis 1:24
Then God said, "Let the earth produce many kinds of living things. Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals." And all these things happened.
Genesis 1:25
So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling things. And God saw that this was good.
Genesis 1:30
And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food." And all these things happened.
Genesis 2:19
The Lord God used dust from the ground and made every animal in the fields and every bird in the air. He brought all these animals to the man, and the man gave them all a name.
Genesis 8:17
Bring every living animal out of the boat with you—all the birds, animals, and everything that crawls on the earth. These animals will make many more animals, and they will fill the earth again."
1 Kings 4:33
Solomon also knew very much about nature. He taught about many different kinds of plants—everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the little vines that grow out of the walls. He also taught about animals, birds, and snakes.
Psalms 148:10
Praise him, wild animals and cattle, reptiles and birds.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The beasts of the field cry also unto thee,.... As well as the prophet, in their way; which may be mentioned, both as a rebuke to such who had no sense of the judgments upon them, and called not on the Lord; and to express the greatness of the calamity, of which the brute creatures were sensible, and made piteous moans, as for food, so for drink; panting thorough excessive heat and vehement thirst, as the hart, after the water brooks, of which this word is only used,

Psalms 42:1; but in vain:

for the rivers of waters are dried up; not only springs, and rivulets and brooks of water, but rivers, places where were large deep waters, as Aben Ezra explains it; either by the Assyrian army, the like Sennacherib boasts Isaiah 37:25; and is said to be done by the army of Xerxes, wherever it came; or rather by the excessive heat and scorching beams of the sun, by which such effects are produced:

and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness;

Isaiah 37:25- :; and whereas the word rendered pastures signifies both "them" and "habitations" also; and, being repeated, it may be taken in one of the senses in Joel 1:19; and in the other here: and so Kimchi who interprets it before of "tents", here explains it of grassy places in the wilderness, dried up, as if the sun had consumed them.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The beasts of the field cry also unto Thee - o: “There is an order in these distresses. First he points out the insensate things wasted; then those afflicted, which have sense only; then those endowed with reason; so that to the order of calamity there may be consorted an order of pity, sparing first the creature, then the things sentient, then things rational. The Creator spares the creature; the Ordainer, things sentient; the Saviour, the rational.” Irrational creatures joined with the prophet in his cry. The beasts of the field cry to God, though they know it not; it is a cry to God, who compassionates all which suffers. God makes them, in act, a picture of dependence upon His Providence, “seeking to It for a removal of their sufferings, and supply of their needs.” So He saith, “the young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God” Psalms 104:21, and, “He giveth to the beast his food and to the young ravens that cry” Psalms 147:9, and, “Who provideth for the raven his food? when his young ones cry unto God” Job 38:41. If the people would not take instruction from him, he “bids them learn from the beasts of the field how to behave amid these calamities, that they should cry aloud to God to remove them.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Joel 1:20. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee — Even the cattle, wild and tame, are represented as supplicating God to have mercy upon them, and send them provender! There is a similar affecting description of the effects of a drought in Jeremiah, Jeremiah 14:6.

The rivers of waters are dried up — There must have been a drought as well as a host of locusts; as some of these expressions seem to apply to the effects of intense heat.

For המדבר hammidbar, "the wilderness," one of my oldest MSS. reads מדבר midbar, "wilderness" simply, as in Joel 1:19. Eight or ten of Dr. Kennicott's have the same reading.


 
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