Joel 2

The Day of Yahweh is Near

1 Blow [the] trumpet^[a] in Zion, and sound the alarm on {my holy mountain}!^[b] Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh [is] coming --[it is] indeed near.

2 A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again {for generations to come}.^[c]

3 {Before them}^[d] a fire devours, and behind them a flame burns. Like the garden of Eden is the land {before them},^[e] and after them [it is like] a desolate desert, and nothing can escape them.

4 Like [the] appearance of horses is their appearance, and like horsemen they run;

5 like [the] sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about; like [the] sound of a flame of fire devouring stubble; like a strong army arranged in rows [for] battle.

6 {From before them}^[f] nations writhe, all faces {turn pale}.^[g]

7 They run like mighty warriors,^[h] they scale the wall like men of war; each goes on its own way, and they do not swerve [from] their paths.

8 They do not jostle {one another};^[i] each goes on its own trail; and through the falling weapons,^[j] they are not halted.

9 In the city they rush forth; on the walls^[k] they run. Into the houses they climb up; through the windows they enter like [a] thief.

10 {Before them}^[l] [the] earth quakes; [the] heavens tremble; [the] sun and [the] moon grow dark, and [the] stars {have withheld}^[m] their splendor

11 And Yahweh {utters}^[n] his voice before his army, because his encampment [is] very large; strong [is the] one who carries out his decree, for great [is] the day of Yahweh and exceedingly fearful. Who can endure it?

A Call to Repentance

12 "And even now," {declares}^[o] Yahweh, "return to me with all your heart, with fasting, and weeping, and wailing."

13 Rend your hearts^[p] and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he [is] gracious and compassionate, {slow to anger}^[q] and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm.

14 Who knows [whether] he will turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, an offering and a libation, for Yahweh your God?

15 Blow [the] trumpet^[r] in Zion, sanctify a fast, call an assembly;

16 gather [the] people, consecrate [the] assembly; assemble [the] elders, gather [the] children, even those [who are] breast-feeding; let [the] bridegroom come out from his private room, and [the] bride from her canopy.

17 Between the colonnade and the altar, let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep. And let them say, "Take pity, Yahweh, on your people. Do not make your inheritance a reproach, a byword among [the] nations. Why should they say among the nations, 'Where [is] their God?'"

The Response and Promise of Yahweh

18 Then Yahweh became jealous for his land and took pity on his people.

19 And Yahweh answered and said to his people, "Look at me, [I am] sending to you grain, new wine, and olive oil, and you will be satisfied by it. I will not give you [over] any more as a disgrace among the nations.

20 {The northerners}^[s] I will remove from you; I will drive them to a desert and desolate land, its^[t] front to the eastern sea, and its rear into the western sea; its stench and odor will rise up because he^[u] has done great things.

21 Do not fear, [O] land, rejoice and be glad, because Yahweh has done great things.

22 Do not fear, wild animals of [the] field, because [the] pastures of [the] desert have put forth new green shoots, because [the] tree has produced its fruit, [the] fig tree and [the] vine have yielded their produce.

23 Be glad, [O] children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in Yahweh your God, because he has given for you the autumn rains for [your] righteousness,^[v] and he has {poured down}^[w] for you rainwater, [the] autumn and spring rains, as before.

24 The threshing floors will be full [with] grain, and the vats will overflow [with] new wine and olive oil.

25 I will repay you the years that the locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my mighty troops that I sent against you.

26 And you will eat abundantly and be satisfied, and praise the name of Yahweh your God, who has dealt with you {wondrously}. My people {will never be ashamed}.

27 And you will know that I [am] in the midst of Israel, and I [am] Yahweh, your God, and there is no [other]. My people {will never be ashamed again}.

Yahweh’s Spirit Poured Out

28 And it will happen afterward thus: I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your elders will dream dreams; your young men shall see visions.

29 And also on the male slaves and on the female slaves, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

30 And I will {set} wonders in the heavens, and on earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.

31 The sun will be changed to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh.

32 And it will happen--everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be rescued, because on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be {those who escape}, as Yahweh said, and among the survivors whom Yahweh is calling.

Joel 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

God's judgments. (1-14) Exhortations to fasting and prayer; blessings promised. (15-27) A promise of the Holy Spirit, and of future mercies. (28-32)

Verses 1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The striking description which follows, shows what would attend the devastations of locusts, but may also describe the effects from the ravaging of the land by the Chaldeans. If the alarm of temporal judgments is given to offending nations, how much more should sinners be warned to seek deliverance from the wrath to come! Our business therefore on earth must especially be, to secure an interest in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we should seek to be weaned from objects which will soon be torn from all who now make idols of them. There must be outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, weeping, and mourning; tears for trouble must be turned into tears for the sin that caused it. But rending the garments would be vain, except their hearts were rent by abasement and self-abhorrence; by sorrow for their sins, and separation from them. There is no question but that if we truly repent of our sins, God will forgive them; but whether he will remove affliction is not promised, yet the probability of it should encourage us to repent.

Verses 15-27 The priests and rulers are to appoint a solemn fast. The sinner's supplication is, Spare us, good Lord. God is ready to succour his people; and he waits to be gracious. They prayed that God would spare them, and he answered them. His promises are real answers to the prayers of faith; with him saying and doing are not two things. Some understand these promises figuratively, as pointing to gospel grace, and as fulfilled in the abundant comforts treasured up for believers in the covenant of grace.

Verses 28-32 The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was continued in the converting grace and miraculous gifts conferred on both Jews and Gentiles. The judgments of God upon a sinful world, only go before the judgment of the world in the last day. Calling on God supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire toward him, dependence on him, and, as evidence of the sincerity of all this, conscientious obedience to him. Those only shall be delivered in the great day, who are now effectually called from sin to God, from self to Christ, from things below to things above.

Footnotes

• [a]. Hebrew "shofar"
• [b]. Literally "mountain of my holiness"
• [c]. Literally "until years of generations"
• [d]. Literally "before the presence of it"
• [e]. Literally "before the presence of it"
• [f]. Or "From in front of it," or "From the presence of it"
• [g]. Literally "gather paleness"
• [h]. That is, the "great and strong army" (see 2:2)
• [i]. Literally "each man his brother"
• [j]. Hebrew "weapon"
• [k]. Hebrew "wall"
• [l]. Literally "Before the presence of it"
• [m]. Literally "gathered"
• [n]. Literally "gives"
• [o]. Literally "a declaration of"
• [p]. Hebrew "heart"
• [q]. Or "patient"; literally "long of anger"
• [r]. Hebrew "Shofar"
• [s]. Or "The northern army"
• [t]. That is, the northern army
• [u]. That is, Yahweh (see v. 21)
• [v]. Or "vindication"
• [w]. Literally "brought down"
• [x]. Literally "to do a wonder"
• [y]. Literally "will forever not be ashamed"
• [z]. Literally "will forever no longer be ashamed"
• [aa]. Joel 2:28-32 in the English Bible is 3:1-5 in the Hebrew Bible
• [ab]. Literally "give"
• [ac]. Literally, "an escape"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 2

In this chapter a further account is given of the judgment of the locusts and caterpillars, or of those who are designed by them, Joe 2:1-11; the people of the Jews are called to repentance, humiliation, and fasting, urged from the grace and goodness of God, his jealousy and pity for his people, and the answer of prayer that might he expected from him upon this, even to the removal of the calamity, Joe 2:12-20; a prophecy of good things, both temporal and spiritual, in the times of the Messiah, is delivered out as matter and occasion of great joy, Joe 2:21-27; and another concerning the effusion of the Spirit, which was fulfilled an the day of Pentecost, Joe 2:28-29; and the chapter is concluded with the judgments and desolations that should come upon the land of Judea after this, for their rejection of Christ, though the remnant according to the election of grace should be delivered and saved from the general destruction, Joe 2:30-32.