The Field is Ruined

It was difficult to distance myself from the meaning of this Book, and focus on which passages were most pleasing to my ear.  Land becoming desolate certainly doesn't "sound" nice in one way, but when I tried listening to the rythm of the syllables and the beauty of the words themselves, I began to appreciate certain passages. 

The field is ruined,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil fails.
Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley,
Because the harvest field is destroyed.

I like the rythmic difference between the first, third, and fourth lines and the second and fifth lines.  I also like the sound of the words "fresh oil", "land," "harvest," and especially "vinedresser."  Something about the sound of the last line is very sobering.  "Because the harvest field is destroyed."  The word "destroyed" followed by a peiod -- a pause -- seems significant.  I like the personification of the land, which "mourns", and the wheat and barley, which the farmers should "mourn for."  This portion of the text seems to flow from and to other passages very well, and yet it powerfully stands alone.

Another favorite of mine is:

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe
Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.

I like the words "sickle", "ripe", "tread," "wine press", and "vats."  This passage brings purple to my mind, and I like its rythm as a whole.       

I also liked:

And in that day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
And the hills will flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a spring will go out from the House of the LORD
To the valley of Shittim.

The phrase "in that day" are chilling for some reason.  I love the idea of mountains dipping with wine and hills flowing with milk, which doesn't technically happen.  The words "drip", "hills", "flow," "milk", "brooks", "spring", and "valley" stand out to me as well.  I like the phrase, "...a spring will go out."  I like the way the words feel in my mouth as I'm saying them. 

I think this is an interesting and somehow delightful way of reading, especially the Bible.  Perhaps remembering (that's another one of my favorite words) the way words sound and feel could help us retain more Scripture in our minds.