Then, for your sake, I will stop insects from eating ⌞your crops⌟. They will not destroy the produce of your land. The vines in your fields will not lose their unripened grapes,” says the Lord of Armies.
“ ‘I would have gathered their harvest,’ ” declares the Lord, “ ‘but there are no grapes on the vine. There are no figs on the tree, and the leaves have dried up. What I have given them will be taken away.’ ”
The grapevines are dried up. The fig trees are withered. The pomegranate, palm, and apricot trees, as well as all the trees in the orchards, have died. Yes, the joy of these people has died too.
“I will keep the northern ⌞army⌟ far from you, and I will force it into a dry and barren land. The soldiers in front will be forced into the eastern sea. The soldiers in back will be forced into the western sea. A foul odor will rise from the dead bodies. They will stink.” He has done great things!
Wild animals, do not be afraid. The pastures in the wilderness have turned green. The trees have produced their fruit. There are plenty of figs and grapes.
“Then I will repay you for the years that the mature locusts, the adult locusts, the grasshoppers, and the young locusts ate your crops. (They are the large army that I sent against you.)
I struck your ⌞crops⌟ with blight and mildew. Locusts repeatedly devoured your gardens, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees. And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
Even if the fig tree does not bloom and the vines have no grapes, even if the olive tree fails to produce and the fields yield no food, even if the sheep pen is empty and the stalls have no cattle—
I called for a drought on the land, the hills, and on the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and whatever the ground produces, on humans and animals, and on all your hard work.”
Seeds will thrive in peacetime. Vines will produce their grapes. The land will yield its crops. The sky will produce its dew. I will give the few remaining people all these things as an inheritance.