Joel 2:1

The Army of Locusts

1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; ¹ sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—

Joel 2:1 Meaning and Commentary

Joel 2:1

Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy
mountain
This is spoken to the priests, whose business it was to blow the trumpets for calling solemn assemblies to meet in Zion, the temple built there, called from thence the holy mountain of God. Here the trumpet is ordered to be blown with a broken quivering voice, a tarantantara, to give notice of approaching danger by the locusts, or those enemies signified by them, and to prepare for it, and return to God by repentance; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble;
at the judgments of God coming upon them, and the alarm of them: for the day of the Lord cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand;
the time fixed by him to punish a wicked people, and to pour out his wrath and vengeance on them; the day of his visitation, not in love, but in anger.

Joel 2:1 In-Context

1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—

2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.

3 Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland— surely nothing will escape them.

4 Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds.

5 With a sound like that of chariots they bound over the mountaintops, like the crackling of fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for battle.

Cross References

• 1. (Amos 7:1–9)