Joel 2:9

9 They rush against the city; they run over the walls; they climb up the houses and go in through the windows like thieves.

Joel 2:9 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 2:9

They shall run to and fro in the city
Leap about from place to place, as locusts do; see ( Isaiah 33:4 ) ; and as the Chaldeans did when they became masters of the city of Jerusalem; they ran about from place to place to seize upon their spoil and plunder: they shall run upon the wall;
which before they climbed, now they shall run upon, and go from tower to tower, as the Chaldeans did, and broke clown the walls and fortifications: they shall climb up upon the houses, and enter in at the windows, like
a thief;
so the locusts entered into the houses of the Egyptians, ( Exodus 10:6 ) ; and Pliny says F19, they will eat through everything, and even the doors of houses. Theodoret on the place observes, that not only this may be done by enemies, what is here said,

``but even [we have often seen] it done by locusts; for not only flying, but even creeping up the walls, they enter into houses at the windows.''

FOOTNOTES:

F19 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.

Joel 2:9 In-Context

7 They attack like warriors; they climb the walls like soldiers. They all keep marching straight ahead and do not change direction
8 or get in each other's way. They swarm through defenses, and nothing can stop them.
9 They rush against the city; they run over the walls; they climb up the houses and go in through the windows like thieves.
10 The earth shakes as they advance; the sky trembles. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.
11 The Lord thunders commands to his army. The troops that obey him are many and mighty. How terrible is the day of the Lord! Who will survive it?
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.