The word of Hashem: In the first two chapters, he prophesies about the locust swarm that came in those days and devastated the land:

Hear this, O elders: He addresses: 1) the elders, who should recall whether anything like this had occurred in previous generations; 2) give ear, all inhabitants of the land, who should recount this extraordinary event to their children after them. Corresponding to “Hear this, O elders,” he explains: Has this happened in your days, even though you have already lived many years? And corresponding to “Give ear, all inhabitants of the land,” he says:

Tell your children about it: All the inhabitants of the land should recount this event and transmit it as a tradition to future generations, namely:

What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust devoured: Although there was also a devastating locust plague in Egypt, concerning which it is said that nothing like it would occur afterward, only one kind of locust appeared there, whereas here there were four kinds. Each one destroyed whatever its predecessor had left behind. Such a thing had never happened before, as our Sages explained:

Awaken: (This entire passage continues through verse 8, where he poetically depicts the vine lamenting, as will be explained there. It is as though the vine wails, takes up a lament, and says:) You drunkards, who are perpetually sunk in the stupor of drunkenness, now awaken from your wine-induced stupor and weep, for there is no intoxicating feast. Moreover, wail, all you wine drinkers: even those who are not drunkards but are merely accustomed to drinking wine should also wail over the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouths, and you no longer have the pleasant drink that delights your palate.

For a nation has invaded My land: He portrays the locusts as a nation because they are united together like a distinct people. It is mighty in the quality of its strength and without number in its vast multitude. Its teeth—the lion’s strength lies in its teeth, while the strength of the young lion lies in its jaws; thus, it has the teeth of a lion and the jaws of a young lion with which to destroy everything.

He has laid My vine waste: For it destroyed the vine and the fig tree by stripping them bare, removing the bark from the trees.

And cast it away: It cast away the bark of the trees, until their branches turned white; as a result, the trees were destroyed.

Lament like a virgin: In his figurative language, the prophet portrays the vine and the fig tree themselves as wailing the words spoken in verses 5–7. The vine tells the drunkards to weep because a nation has invaded the vine’s land and laid its vine waste. All this is spoken by the vine and the fig tree that were destroyed. He depicts them as a virgin clothed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth. This is an exceptionally striking poetic image. The locusts devoured and destroyed the branches of the vine and the fig tree, leaving only their trunks. It is customary to wrap sackcloth around a trunk from which the bark has been removed, to bind and warm it so that it will grow new shoots and branches. This is the image of being “clothed in sackcloth.” In the terminology of the Sages, a tree that has never been cut down is called a “virgin,” as stated in the first chapter of Niddah: “There are three virgins,” one of which is “a virgin sycamore”—a sycamore that has never been cut down. Accordingly, he portrays the vine, which had never previously been cut down, as a virgin, for until now it had remained untouched. He calls the branches that were cut from it its “husband,” because they rise above it. This virgin now wears sackcloth in mourning for her husband, who has been cut down and taken from her. She is commanded to utter the lament stated above: “For a nation has invaded my land”—that is, the soil upon which she grows—and has destroyed its vine and its fig tree.

Cut off: Now he describes why the priests, the ministers of Hashem, mourn: they lament because the meal offering and the libation have been cut off from the House of Hashem, since there is no flour for the meal offerings, nor wine or oil for the libations.

Devastated: Corresponding to “the meal offering has been cut off,” he explains that the field has been devastated—the grain fields where wheat for the meal offerings grew. Corresponding to “the libation has been cut off,” he explains that the ground mourns, for the vines used to produce the libations grew upon it. Elaborating on “the field has been devastated,” he says, “for the grain has been devastated,” since grain grows in the field. Elaborating on “the ground mourns,” he says, “the new wine has dried up; the oil languishes,” referring to the wine and oil used for the libations. He then explains further:

Corresponding to “the grain has been devastated,” he says, “the farmers are ashamed,” for they are the ones who work the grain fields. Corresponding to “the new wine has dried up,” he says, “wail, O vine growers,” for they are the ones who cultivate vineyards of grapes and olives. He then further explains “the farmers are ashamed” by adding, “over the wheat and over the barley,” as well as “for the harvest of the field has perished,” referring to the other kinds of grain and legumes that grow in the field and are cultivated by farmers. Corresponding to “wail, O vine growers,” he explains:

The vine has dried up, and the fig tree languishes: Those who cultivate vineyards also plant all kinds of fruit trees, and all of them were destroyed. Here he enumerates the seven species for which the Land of Israel is praised: wheat, barley, grapevines, figs, pomegranates, dates, and olives—the olive being included among the vineyards, as explained above. Regarding produce of the ground, he adds, “the harvest of the field has perished,” to include every kind. Regarding trees, he adds the apple tree, the most important of the remaining kinds of trees, and includes them all in the words, “all the trees of the field have dried up.” People were accustomed to rejoice with fruit from the trees on joyous occasions. Concerning this, he says, “for joy has withered away from mankind.”

Gird yourselves: He commands the priests to gird themselves with sackcloth for prayer and to lament over the calamity. This is addressed to the priests in general. He then explains that he is speaking to two groups among them: one group should gird themselves with sackcloth and pray, while the other should wail and lament like those who despair without hope. There were righteous priests who were ministers of Hashem, serving Hashem with proper intention, while other priests were merely ministers of the altar, performing its sacrifices but not serving Hashem with the desired intention. Therefore, he says, “Wail, O ministers of the altar”: those who merely minister to the altar should wail in despair, for their prayers are not favorably received. “Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God”: the righteous, however, who truly serve Hashem, should spend the night in sackcloth, praying and repenting so as to avert the decree. He explains why the priests, more than the rest of the people, should be stirred to do this: “For the meal offering and the libation have been withheld from the House of your God.” Because of the locusts, the wheat used for the meal offerings had spoiled and become worm-infested, and the wine used for the libations had been ruined.

Sanctify a fast: He further commands the priests to sanctify a fast and proclaim a solemn assembly, so that the people will gather at the House of Hashem. They are to assemble the elders and all the inhabitants of the land in the House of Hashem and cry out to Hashem. During fasts held in response to calamities, they would assemble the people and appoint an elder to lead the prayers, and the elder would deliver words intended to humble and inspire them, as explained in Tractate Taanit.

Alas: They should cry out and say, “Alas for the day!” for two reasons: 1) because the day is near—the decree will soon come; and 2) because it will come like devastation from the Almighty, from which there is no way to escape. It is as though the devastation comes from Hashem and through His Divine Providence. Although the natural order does not require this devastation, it comes from the Almighty, who overpowers the natural order—and who can withstand the wrath of Hashem?

Is it not before our eyes? The prophet adds that although the event has not yet actually occurred, we already see it with our own eyes—through the prophetic vision that beholds the future as though it were present. It already stands before our eyes: food has been cut off, and joy and gladness have already been cut off from the House of our God, for songs were sung in the Temple when the libations were offered, as explained by Maimonides in the Laws of the Temple Vessels.

They have rotted: The heaps of grain hidden underground in the field, arranged in separate piles, have also spoiled and become moldy beneath the clods of earth, even though the locusts could not reach them there. He adds that the storehouses have become desolate, where grain was stored, and the granaries have also been demolished—these being smaller than the storehouses—because the grain has dried up.

How the animals groan! The prophet asks in astonishment: If man sinned, what sin did the animals commit? Why should the animals groan—what wrong have they done? Why are the herds of cattle bewildered because they have no pasture? Have even the flocks of sheep incurred guilt? Have they too sinned and become culpable? Why, then, has Hashem punished the animals?

To You: He adds: If you answer that the punishment was principally directed against man, and that domesticated animals perished together with him because they are under his authority and constitute his property—for he was sentenced to lose his animals and possessions—the prophet responds: Yet to You, O Hashem, I cry, for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, where there is no human settlement, and a flame has scorched all the trees of the field, even though they are far from human habitation. As a result:

Even the beasts of the field cry out to You: Because of this, even the wild animals, which are not under human dominion, cry out in protest, for the channels of water have dried up, and they have no water to drink.

And fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, leaving them nothing to graze upon. Therefore, concerning this, to You, O Hashem, I cry: What sin did the wild animals commit, and why should they be punished for man’s transgression?