Joel 2:1-11

The LORD Sends an Army of Locusts

1 Priests, blow the trumpets in Zion. Give a warning on my holy mountain. Let everyone who lives in the land tremble with fear. The day of the LORD is coming. It is very near.

2 That day will be dark and sad. It will be black and cloudy. A huge army of locusts is coming. They will spread across the mountains like the sun when it rises. There has never been an army like it. And there will never be another for all time to come.

3 Like fire they eat up everything in their path. Behind them it looks as if flames have burned the land. In front of them the land is like the Garden of Eden. Behind them it is a dry and empty desert. Nothing escapes them.

4 They look like horses. Like war horses they charge ahead.

5 They sound like chariots as they leap over the mountaintops. They crackle like fire burning up dry weeds. They are like a mighty army that is ready for battle.

6 When people see them, they tremble with fear. All of their faces turn pale.

7 The locusts charge ahead like warriors. They climb over walls like soldiers. All of them march in line. They don't turn to the right or the left.

8 They don't bump into one another. Each of them marches straight ahead. They charge through everything that tries to stop them. But they still stay in line.

9 They attack a city. They run along its wall. They climb into houses. They enter through windows like robbers.

10 As they march forward, the earth shakes. The sky trembles as they approach. The sun and moon grow dark. And the stars stop shining.

11 The LORD thunders with his mighty voice as he leads his army. He has so many forces they can't even be counted. Those who obey his commands are great in number. The day of the LORD is great and terrifying. Who can live through it?

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Joel 2:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Joel 2:1-11

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The LORD Sends an Army of Locusts

Joel 2:1-11 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOEL 2