Has not the food been cut off
The phrase "food been cut off" in Hebrew is "נִכְרַת אֹכֶל" (nikhrat okhel). The verb "נִכְרַת" (nikhrat) means "to cut off" or "to destroy," indicating a sudden and complete removal. This reflects the devastating impact of the locust plague described earlier in the chapter, which has stripped the land of its produce. In a broader spiritual sense, this can symbolize the removal of spiritual nourishment when a community turns away from God. The loss of physical sustenance is a direct consequence of the people's disobedience, serving as a call to repentance and a return to reliance on God for provision.

before our very eyes
The phrase "before our very eyes" emphasizes the immediacy and visibility of the disaster. It is not a distant or abstract event but one that the people are witnessing firsthand. This serves as a powerful reminder of the reality of God's judgment and the tangible consequences of sin. The use of "our" personalizes the experience, indicating that the community as a whole is affected and must collectively acknowledge their need for divine intervention.

joy and gladness
"Joy and gladness" in Hebrew are "שִׂמְחָה וְשָׂשׂוֹן" (simchah ve'sason). These words are often associated with celebrations, feasts, and worship in the temple. Their absence signifies a deep spiritual and communal loss. In the context of ancient Israel, joy and gladness were not merely emotional states but were tied to the presence and favor of God. The removal of these elements from the community underscores the severity of the situation and the need for repentance to restore the relationship with God.

from the house of our God
The "house of our God" refers to the temple in Jerusalem, the center of worship and the dwelling place of God's presence among His people. The absence of joy and gladness from the temple indicates a disruption in the worship and spiritual life of the nation. Historically, the temple was where sacrifices and offerings were made, and its desolation would have been a profound sign of spiritual desolation. This phrase calls the people to recognize the spiritual barrenness that accompanies physical devastation and to seek restoration through sincere repentance and renewed worship.

Verses 16-18. - These verses contain manifest proofs that the day of the Lord was coming, and coming as a destruction from the Almighty. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes? The food for daily sustenance, and the food for Divine service - the corn and wine and oil, as mentioned in ver. 10 - had vanished while they beheld the process of destruction, but could not binder it. "These locusts," says Thomson, in 'The Land and the Book,' "at once strip the vines of every leaf and cluster of grapes, and of every green twig. I also saw many large fig orchards 'clean bare,' not a leaf remaining; and, as the bark of the fig tree is of a silvery whiteness, the whole orchards, thus rifled of their green veils, spread abroad their branches 'made white' in melancholy nakedness to the burning sun." He then refers to the exclamation in ver. 15, and to that in the words before us, "Is not the meat cut off before our eyes?" and then proceeds," This is most emphatically true. I saw under my own eye not only a large vineyard loaded with young grapes, but whole fields of corn, disappear as if by magic, and the hope of the husbandman vanish like smoke." Yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God. Not only had the food necessary for the support of daily life perished - "The food of the sinners," says Jerome, "perishes before their eyes, since the crops they looked for are snatched away from their hands, and the locust anticipates the reaper," - but the offerings used in Divine worship had ceased. Owing to the destruction of the crops, the firstfruits, as a matter of course, failed; the thank offerings could not be procured. Consequently, the joy that usually accompanied the presentation of these and other offerings was also cut off. When the Hebrews of old brought their burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, heave offerings, vows, free-will offerings, and firstlings of herds and flocks, it was a joyful season, a time of rejoicing before the Lord, as we learn from Deuteronomy 12:7, "There ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households." All this joy and gladness, so graciously associated with the worship of Jehovah, were now things of the past. The seed (margin, grains)is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. This was a fearful aggravation of their calamity. Their present distress thus prolonged itself into the future, as there was no prospect of a crop in the following year to cheer them. The rotting of the seed that had been sown and carefully covered in the earth was occasioned by the drought. The visitation of locusts, as Stanley says, "came, like all such visitations, in the season of' unusual drought - a drought which passed over the country like flames of fire." The rotting of the seed, and the withering of the corn, if the mouldering seed germinated and put forth a blade at all, rendered barns useless, and granaries, or the larger storehouses, unnecessary. The barns were left to decay and tumble down; and the granaries were desolate, and so there was no further use for them. Several difficult expressions occur in this verse, Perudoth is from parad, to scatter about, or to sow broadcast, and hence signifies "scattered things," - seed or grain sown. עַבַשׁ is to dry up, moulder, wither; and is said of seeds that lose their germinating power Megraphoth are clods of earth, the root being garaph, to wash away (Judges 5:21); the noun, therefore, denotes a clod of earth rolled together by water and swept away. Otsaroth were the storehouses, but these were allowed to moulder away, as there was no reasonable prospect of a harvest or of grain to store in them. The mam-megurah or megurah, viz. the barns, had now become a useless appendage of the farmstead. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. The drought that preceded and accompanied the plague of locusts destroyed the pasture-grounds, and thus the herds of cattle were bewildered, being deprived of pasture and water; they were perplexed to know where to find food to satisfy the cravings of hunger, and water to quench their thirst; in their perplexity they sought both, but found neither. The flocks of sheep, too, that are more easily satisfied and accustomed to browse on grass shorter and sparser, were desolate for want of nourishment, or, as the word ashem may be translated, "expiate the sin of man," inasmuch as they suffered from its consequences. This also was true to the life, as Thomson assures us. After quoting this verse (18) he adds, "This is poetic, but true. A field over which this flood of desolation [the locusts] has rolled shows not a blade for even a goat to nip." What with the locusts devouring what appeared above ground, and the drought destroying the seeds sown under the surface, the havoc was complete; famine and distress afflicted both man and beast. In the progress of this visitation the cereals - corn, and wheat, and barley, and other grains - were ruined; the fruit trees - vine, and olive, and fig, and pomegranate. and apple, and palm - were destroyed. But not only were the herbs for the service of man eaten up, but the grass for the cattle perished. Stanley refers to it in the following eloquent words: "The purple vine, the green fig tree, the grey olive, the scarlet pomegranate, the golden corn, the waving palm, the fragrant citron, vanished before them; end the trunks and branches were left bare and white by their devouring teeth. What had been but a few moments before like the garden of Eden was turned into a desolate wilderness. The herds of cattle and flocks of sheep so dear to the shepherds of Judah, the husbandmen so dear to King Uzziah, were reduced to starvation. The flour and oil for the 'meat offerings' failed; even the temple lost its accustomed sacrifices." The remarks of Kimchi on some of the difficult or unusual words of this verse deserve attention. On עבשו he observes, "It is equivalent in meaning to עפשו, for the beth and the pe belong to the same organ." In his note on perudoth he says, "They are the grains of seed that are under the earth; and he says another curse will be that the seed will be destroyed and rotten under the earth, and shall not bud; and what shall bud, the locusts shall eat it. Or the grains of seed shall rot because of the rains which do not descend upon them, for there shall also be in like manner a great drought [literally, ' restraint of rain'] in those years." On the garners (otsaroth) being laid desolate, and the barns (mammeguroth) broken down, he observes on the former, "The garners for the produce are laid desolate, for there was nothing to bring into them, and, lo! they are laid desolate. In reference to the latter he says, "He (the prophets) repeats the matter in different words; for mammeguroth is the same as otsaroth, and so 'is the seed yet in the barn, megurah (Hosea 2:20), gives proof of this." And he accounts for their being broken down either "(1) because they brought nothing into them, or

(2) they were broken down because they had no caretaker to repair them after the custom from year to year, and so they fell and were destroyed." Of the perplexity of the herds he gives the following explanation: "He speaks collectively (i.e. the verb is singular, agreeing with the noun), and afterwards individually (the verb being plural); perplexed has the meaning of confusion, as a man who is confused in his knowledge, and does not know what to do, and so they (the herds) are confused in the land," in other words, they wandered up and down, and knew not where to go for drink or pasture. He (Kimchi) adds, in his further explanation. "that the flecks of sheep sometimes find pasture where the oxen do not find it, because that they (sheep) go up upon the mountains and upon the hills - a thing which the oxen do not in general do."

Parallel Commentaries ...

Has not
הֲל֛וֹא (hă·lō·w)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

the food
אֹ֣כֶל (’ō·ḵel)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 400: Food

been cut off
נִכְרָ֑ת (niḵ·rāṯ)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

before
נֶ֥גֶד (ne·ḡeḏ)
Preposition
Strong's 5048: A front, part opposite, a counterpart, mate, over against, before

our very eyes—
עֵינֵ֖ינוּ (‘ê·nê·nū)
Noun - cdc | first person common plural
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

joy
שִׂמְחָ֥ה (śim·ḥāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 8057: Blithesomeness, glee

and gladness
וָגִֽיל׃ (wā·ḡîl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1524: A revolution, joy

from the house
מִבֵּ֥ית (mib·bêṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of our God?
אֱלֹהֵ֖ינוּ (’ĕ·lō·hê·nū)
Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative


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OT Prophets: Joel 1:16 Isn't the food cut off before our (Jl Joe.)