Joel 2:17-20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
17 Between the vestibule and the altar,
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep.
Let them say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and do not make your heritage a mockery,
a byword among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”(A)
God’s Response and Promise
18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.(B)
19 In response to his people the Lord said:
“I am sending you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a mockery among the nations.(C)
20 I will remove the northern army far from you
and drive it into a parched and desolate land,
its front into the eastern sea
and its rear into the western sea;
its stench and foul smell will rise up.”
Surely he has done great things!(D)
Joel 2:17-20
New King James Version
17 Let the priests, who minister to the Lord,
Weep (A)between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, (B)“Spare Your people, O Lord,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should [a]rule over them.
(C)Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’ ”
The Land Refreshed(D)
18 Then the Lord will (E)be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
19 The Lord will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I will send you (F)grain and new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied by them;
I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.
20 “But (G)I will remove far from you (H)the northern army,
And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land,
With his face toward the eastern sea
And his back (I)toward the western sea;
His stench will come up,
And his foul odor will rise,
Because he has done [b]monstrous things.”
Joel 2:17-20
New Living Translation
17 Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,
stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.
Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!
Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.
Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,
‘Has the God of Israel left them?’”
The Lord’s Promise of Restoration
18 Then the Lord will pity his people
and jealously guard the honor of his land.
19 The Lord will reply,
“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy your needs.
You will no longer be an object of mockery
among the surrounding nations.
20 I will drive away these armies from the north.
I will send them into the parched wastelands.
Those in the front will be driven into the Dead Sea,
and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.[a]
The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”
Surely the Lord has done great things!
Footnotes
- 2:20 Hebrew into the eastern sea, . . . into the western sea.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
