Joel 1:9 kjv
The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn.
Joel 1:9 nkjv
The grain offering and the drink offering Have been cut off from the house of the LORD; The priests mourn, who minister to the LORD.
Joel 1:9 niv
Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests are in mourning, those who minister before the LORD.
Joel 1:9 esv
The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD.
Joel 1:9 nlt
For there is no grain or wine
to offer at the Temple of the LORD.
So the priests are in mourning.
The ministers of the LORD are weeping.
Joel 1 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Deut 28:15, 38-40 | If you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God...Locusts shall devour... | God's curses include agricultural ruin and plagues. |
| Lev 2:1, 14-16 | When anyone offers a grain offering to the LORD... | Description of grain offerings requiring agricultural produce. |
| Num 15:4-7 | He who offers his sacrifice shall offer... a tenth of an ephah of fine flour...and a fourth of a hin of wine... | Description of drink offerings, essential components of ritual. |
| Amos 4:6-9 | "I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities... I struck you with blight and mildew... your many gardens... the locust devoured..." | Divine judgment manifested through famine and pests, paralleling Joel's situation. |
| Hag 1:9-11 | "You looked for much, and behold, it came to little... because of my house that lies in ruins... Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce." | Divine judgment stopping rain and crops due to neglected worship/obedience. |
| Jer 14:1-6 | The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought... | Laments over severe drought leading to societal distress and lack of water for even animals. |
| Jer 7:21-23 | "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh. For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them... concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices, but this command I gave them: "Obey my voice..."'" | Emphasizes obedience over mere ritual, implying the ritual alone without heart is not enough, and can be stripped away. |
| Hos 3:4 | For the people of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or teraphim. | Prophecy of a time when Israel would be without established worship practices. |
| Isa 1:11-15 | "What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?... I do not delight in the blood of bulls...When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood." | God's rejection of mere outward ritual when heart and deeds are corrupt, making cessation of offerings less about absence and more about their efficacy. |
| Mal 1:7-8 | "By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the LORD’s table may be despised. When you offer blind animals in sacrifice... Is that not evil?" | Warning about defiled offerings, showing importance of proper worship. |
| Pss 51:16-17 | For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. | Highlights the superiority of genuine repentance and heart-worship over physical sacrifice. |
| 1 Sam 15:22 | And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice..." | Direct statement of God's preference for obedience over ritual observance. |
| Matt 9:13 | "Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." | Jesus quoting Hos 6:6, reinforcing the spiritual essence of worship over ritual. |
| Heb 9:9-10 | ...concerned only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation... | Describes Old Covenant rituals as temporary, pointing to a new reality. |
| Heb 10:1-4 | For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near... | Explains the insufficiency of Old Covenant sacrifices to fully atone for sin, foreshadowing Christ. |
| Heb 10:10, 12 | And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all... When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God... | Christ's perfect and permanent sacrifice renders the Old Covenant offerings obsolete. |
| Joel 2:12-13 | "Yet even now," declares the LORD, "return to me with all your heart... Rend your hearts and not your garments." | Follow-up call for sincere, internal repentance rather than mere outward acts. |
| Isa 58:6-7 | "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free...?" | Emphasizes ethical action and justice as a true form of worship/fasting. |
| Jonah 3:5-9 | The people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth... Who knows? God may turn and relent... | National repentance, mirroring the call in Joel, leading to averted judgment. |
| Lam 2:9 | ...Her gates have sunk into the ground; he has shattered her bars; her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is no more, and her prophets obtain no vision from the LORD. | Shows total disruption of worship and societal order as divine judgment. |
| Ps 78:49-50 | He let loose on them his burning anger... He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague. | God sending plagues as a means of judgment. |
| Deut 26:10 | "...and behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before the LORD your God and worship before the LORD your God." | Connects the offering of first fruits directly to agricultural produce and worship. |
Joel 1 verses
Joel 1 9 Meaning
Joel 1:9 declares a devastating halt to the ritual sacrifices offered at the Jerusalem Temple, specifically the grain and drink offerings. This cessation is not due to neglect, but a direct consequence of the overwhelming agricultural devastation caused by a locust plague and subsequent drought. The absence of produce makes these offerings impossible, leading the priests and all who minister in the Temple into deep mourning. It signifies a profound disruption of the normal relationship between God and Israel, serving as a stark manifestation of divine judgment and calling the people to lament their spiritual and physical barrenness.
Joel 1 9 Context
Joel chapter 1 immediately introduces the gravity of a national crisis: an unprecedented locust plague and severe drought have utterly decimated Judah's crops, vineyards, and trees. The prophet describes the swarms metaphorically as invading armies, highlighting their complete destruction of the land's bounty. This agricultural devastation directly impacts the ability of the people to provide the required produce for the Temple offerings. Verse 9 specifically highlights this consequence, leading to the priests and temple ministers' lamentation because their sacred duties have been forcibly suspended. This physical crisis serves as a stark metaphor and precursor for a spiritual crisis, urging the people towards national repentance and anticipating the even greater "Day of the Lord." Historically, while the precise date of Joel is debated (pre-exilic or post-exilic), the text portrays a setting where the Jerusalem Temple is central to worship, and the community is deeply connected to agrarian life, making the described devastation profoundly impactful both economically and spiritually.
Joel 1 9 Word analysis
- The grain offering (מִנְחָה - minḥāh):
- Word: "Grain offering."
- Significance: In the Old Covenant, this was a non-bloody sacrifice, often flour, bread, or grain, presented to the Lord. It symbolized gratitude, dedication, or thanksgiving. Its presence was integral to daily and festival worship (e.g., Exod 29:38-42, Lev 2). The inability to offer it highlights a complete lack of agricultural yield.
- and the drink offering (נֶסֶךְ - nesekh):
- Word: "Drink offering" or "libation."
- Significance: Typically wine or strong drink poured out with burnt offerings or peace offerings (e.g., Num 15:1-10). Like the grain offering, it required agricultural produce. Its absence compounds the picture of devastation. Both minḥāh and nesekh were standard components of the daily and festival sacrifices.
- are cut off (נִכְרְתָה - nikh'rᵉtāh):
- Word: "Cut off." This is a passive verb.
- Significance: Implies an external force has caused their cessation. The offerings cannot be made; they are not simply neglected or intentionally withheld by the people. This highlights the severity of God's judgment expressed through the plague and drought, making physical worship impossible. It emphasizes divine agency in the catastrophe.
- from the house (מִבֵּית - mi·beit):
- Word: "From the house."
- Significance: Refers specifically to the Temple in Jerusalem ("house of the Lord"). This anchors the religious consequence of the famine to the central place of worship, emphasizing the direct impact on their relationship with God and the ritual system established in the Mosaic Law.
- of the Lord (יְהוָה - Yahweh):
- Word: "The Lord," God's covenant name.
- Significance: Identifies the recipient of the offerings and the one whose Temple is affected. It reinforces that the crisis is spiritual, emanating from Yahweh Himself, even though mediated by natural disaster. It sets the stage for a call to Him for restoration.
- the priests (הַכֹּהֲנִים - ha-kohănîm):
- Word: "The priests."
- Significance: These are the intermediaries of Israel's worship, responsible for carrying out the rituals and presenting offerings to God. Their role is directly tied to the functioning of the Temple. Their distress underscores the gravity of the crisis in the liturgical life of Israel.
- mourn (אָבְלוּ - ’āḇəlū):
- Word: "Mourn."
- Significance: A deep, heartfelt sorrow, typically expressed through outward signs like tearing garments, fasting, or wailing (as later described in Joel). Their mourning signifies profound grief not just over the physical loss but the spiritual consequence: the broken communion with God due to the inability to worship.
- the ministers (מְשָׁרְתֵי - məšārᵉtê):
- Word: "Ministers" or "servants."
- Significance: This term refers broadly to those who serve or minister in the Temple, which includes priests but might also encompass Levites or other temple personnel. Their inclusion alongside the priests emphasizes the pervasive impact of the cessation of offerings on the entire Temple staff and the worship life it facilitates.
- of the Lord (יְהוָה - Yahweh):
- Word: "Of the Lord," referring to God again.
- Significance: Reiteration connects the "ministers" directly to God and His service. They are Yahweh's ministers, emphasizing the divine nature of their disrupted duties.
Joel 1 9 Words-group Analysis
- "The grain offering and the drink offering": These two specific offerings represent the very essence of regular, communal worship that sustained Israel's daily connection with God. They were acts of devotion, thanksgiving, and communion, often accompanying sacrifices for atonement. Their inclusion highlights that even basic acts of worship were impossible, signifying the profound nature of the spiritual disconnect caused by the judgment.
- "are cut off from the house of the Lord": This phrase dramatically portrays the cessation of worship in God's holy dwelling place. The "cutting off" implies a forceful, undeniable reality, a severing of the customary link between God and His people through the established rituals. It demonstrates God's immediate and overwhelming intervention in their lives, impacting the very means by which they sought Him.
- "the priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord": This emphasizes the human reaction to the divine judgment. The priests, as the primary custodians of divine ritual, and the broader "ministers," responsible for the Temple's function, are in a state of deep lament. Their mourning is not just for the economic devastation but for the spiritual tragedy of their inability to fulfill their sacred duties and engage in the worship so central to their identity. It's a professional and personal anguish reflecting the broken covenant relationship.
Joel 1 9 Bonus section
- The minḥāh and nesekh were "food of the Lord" (Lev 3:11, Num 28:2), symbolizing the sustenance and bounty that came from God. Their absence, therefore, not only reflects the lack of physical sustenance for the people but also, in a ritual sense, for God himself, signifying the depth of His judgment.
- The immediate, tangible consequence of the famine upon worship served as an unmistakable sign to the people. Unlike abstract sins or prophecies, the emptiness of the Temple treasury and the idleness of the altar provided a powerful, undeniable spiritual crisis point that even the most oblivious could not ignore.
- This verse foreshadows a recurring biblical theme where God's ultimate desire for His people's worship is a matter of the heart and obedience, not just outward ritual (1 Sam 15:22; Hos 6:6; Amos 5:21-24). The stripping away of the means for external offerings prompts a deeper spiritual reflection.
Joel 1 9 Commentary
Joel 1:9 stands as a pivotal verse in Joel's prophecy, articulating a dire consequence of divine judgment that transcends mere economic hardship to strike at the spiritual core of Israel. The inability to offer grain (minḥāh) and drink (nesekh) offerings at the Temple signals more than a logistical problem; it is a profound rupture in the nation's covenant relationship with Yahweh. These particular offerings, typically symbols of thanksgiving and dedication from the firstfruits of the land, becoming impossible underscores the totality of the ecological devastation. The phrase "cut off" suggests a forced, undeniable cessation, highlighting God's direct hand in disrupting the means by which His people outwardly honored Him. This forced halt leads the priests and all temple ministers into genuine mourning, not just for their lost livelihood but for the severe interruption of sacred worship and the deep-seated spiritual crisis it represented. The scene prepares the way for Joel's later calls for sincere repentance, demonstrating that when external ritual is rendered impossible by God's judgment, the focus must shift to the internal state of the heart and genuine lament before the Lord.