The first line of the verse serves as a kind of introduction to the prayer in verses 19-20. Lines two and three are parallel with lines four and five.

Unto thee, O LORD, I cry: Thee is an archaic second person singular pronoun used for referring to God. In English it is better to say “you.” Some languages may need to place the vocative expression O LORD at the beginning or end of this line (so Good News Translation) rather than leaving it in the middle. The Hebrew verb for cry means to call out to someone, usually with a loud voice, as when a person shouts for help (see verse 14, where the same verb is used). The verb frequently refers to the act of praying, especially praying aloud for God’s help. It appears that the prophet is uttering his personal prayer to God when he says I cry, which is the preferred meaning. It is possible that I cry refers to all the people of Judah speaking as if they were a single individual, for this sort of switching between first person singular and plural occurs frequently in psalms of lament. If the translator decides to use the plural “we cry,” then verses 19-20 may be formatted as part of the preceding stanza. However, in these two verses there is some repetition of expressions used earlier, so that it may be better to consider this as the prophet’s own prayer to God on behalf of his people. It reinforces the people’s lament in this time of distress. So it is an intercessory prayer for the LORD’s mercy and forgiveness.

For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field: Fire is frequently associated with manifestations of God or his power (see Psa 29.7; 50.3; 97.3). Some scholars interpret fire and flame literally, and this is possible because fires easily break out in grass dried by a drought. However, Good News Translation assumes that devoured and burned are figures for “dried up” (compare Jer 9.10), and takes fire and flame as metaphors for drought. Good News Translation changes the metaphors into an easier simile, saying “because the pastures and trees are dried up, as though a fire had burned them.” However, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, and Bijbel in Gewone Taal have adopted the literal, more poetic interpretation. With this interpretation devoured is a metaphor for the action of fire burning things completely. Many languages have similar figures of speech for fire “eating” things. Translators may follow a literal or figurative interpretation for these lines.

The pastures of the wilderness refers to the wild grass eaten by the cattle and sheep. For the trees of the field, see verse 12.

Some translators need to combine the last four lines, since their language does not allow them to distinguish fire from flame. If it is understood that fire and flame are figures of speech for drought, then Good News Translation will serve as a model for a single term. If they are understood as nonfigurative, then translators may say “because a fire has devoured [or, burned up] all the pastures [or, wild grass] and trees.”

Quoted with permission from de Blois, Kees & Dorn, Louis. A Handbook on Joel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .