Joel 2
Christian Standard Bible
2 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion;(A)
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming;(B)
in fact, it is near—
2 a day of darkness and gloom,(C)
a day of clouds and total darkness,(D)
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people(E) appears,
such as never existed in ages past(F)
and never will again
in all the generations to come.(G)
3 A fire devours in front of them,(H)
and behind them a flame blazes.
The land in front of them
is like the garden of Eden,(I)
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland;(J)
there is no escape from them.
4 Their appearance is like that of horses,(K)
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,(L)
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,(M)
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them;(N)
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,(O)
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
9 They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses;(P)
they enter through the windows like thieves.(Q)
10 The earth quakes before them;(R)
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,(S)
and the stars cease their shining.(T)
11 The Lord makes his voice heard(U)
in the presence of his army.(V)
His camp is very large;
those who carry out his command are powerful.(W)
Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful(X)—
who can endure it?(Y)
God’s Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
turn to me with all your heart,(Z)
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.(AA)
13 Tear your hearts,(AB)
not just your clothes,(AC)
and return to the Lord your God.
For he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,
and he relents from sending disaster.(AD)
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent(AE)
and leave a blessing behind him,(AF)
so you can offer a grain offering and a drink offering
to the Lord your God.(AG)
15 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion!(AH)
Announce a sacred fast;(AI)
proclaim a solemn assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;(AJ)
assemble the aged;[a](AK)
gather the infants,
even babies nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom,(AL)
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests,(AM) the Lord’s ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar.(AN)
Let them say,
“Have pity on your people, Lord,(AO)
and do not make your inheritance a disgrace,(AP)
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’” (AQ)
God’s Response to His People
18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land(AR) and spared his people.(AS) 19 The Lord answered his people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and fresh oil.(AT)
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations.(AU)
20 I will drive the northerner far from you(AV)
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea,(AW)
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.(AX)
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise,(AY)
for he has done astonishing things.
21 Don’t be afraid, land;(AZ)
rejoice and be glad,
for the Lord has done astonishing things.(BA)
22 Don’t be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green,(BB)
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
23 Children of Zion,(BC) rejoice and be glad
in the Lord your God,(BD)
because he gives you the autumn rain[b]
for your vindication.[c](BE)
He sends showers for you,
both autumn and spring rain(BF) as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,(BG)
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and fresh oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate,(BH)
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
my great army that I sent against you.
26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied.(BI)
You will praise the name of the Lord your God,(BJ)
who has dealt wondrously with you.(BK)
My people will never again be put to shame.(BL)
27 You will know that I am present in Israel(BM)
and that I am the Lord your God,
and there is no other.(BN)
My people will never again be put to shame.(BO)
God’s Promise of His Spirit
28 After this(BP)
I will pour out my Spirit(BQ) on all humanity;(BR)
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 I will even pour out my Spirit
on the male and female slaves in those days.(BS)
30 I will display wonders
in the heavens and on the earth:(BT)
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood(BU)
before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.(BV)
32 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved,(BW)
for there will be an escape
for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the Lord promised,(BX)
among the survivors the Lord calls.
Joel 2
1599 Geneva Bible
2 He prophesieth of the coming and cruelty of their enemies. 13 An exhortation to move them to convert. 18 The love of God toward his people.
1 Blow [a]the trumpet in Zion, and shout in mine holy mountain, let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord is come: for it is at hand.
2 A [b]day of darkness, and of blackness, a day of clouds and obscurity, as the morning spread upon the mountains, so is there a [c]great people, and a mighty: there was none like it from the beginning, neither shall be anymore after it, unto the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before him, and behind him a flame burneth up: the land is as the garden of [d]Eden before him, and behind him a desolate wilderness, so that nothing shall escape him.
4 The beholding of him is like the sight of horses, and like the horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots in the tops of the mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, and as a mighty people prepared to the battle.
6 Before his face shall the people tremble: all faces [e]shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like strong men, and go up to the wall like men of war, and every man shall go forward in his ways, and they shall not stay in their paths.
8 Neither shall one [f]thrust another, but everyone shall walk in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city: they shall run upon the wall: they shall clime up upon the houses, and enter in at the windows like the thief.
10 The earth shall tremble before him, the heavens shall shake, the [g]sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
11 And the Lord shall [h]utter his voice before his host: for his host is very great: for he is strong that doeth his word: (A)for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it?
12 Therefore also now the Lord saith, Turn you unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning,
13 And [i]rent your heart, and not your clothes: and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
14 Who knoweth, if he will [j]return and repent and leave a blessing behind him, even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly.
16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation: gather the elders: assemble the [k]children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her bride chamber.
17 Let the Priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage into reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. (B)Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?
18 Then will the Lord be [l]jealous over his land, and spare his people.
19 Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.
20 But I will remove far off from you the [m]Northern army, and I will drive him into a land, barren and desolate with his face toward the [n]East sea, and his end to the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his corruption shall ascend, because he hath exalted himself to do this.
21 Fear not, O land, but be glad, and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness are green for the tree beareth her fruit: the fig tree and the vine do give their force.
23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he hath given you the rain of [o]righteousness, (C)and he will cause to come down for you the rain, even the first rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
24 And the barns shall be full of wheat, and the presses shall abound with wine and oil.
25 And I will render you the years that the grasshopper hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar and the palmerworm, my great host which I sent among you.
26 So you shall eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt marvelously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.
27 Ye shall also know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and none other, and my people shall never be ashamed.
28 And afterward will I pour [p]out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: your old men shall dream [q]dreams, and your young men shall see visions.
29 And also upon the servants, and upon the maids in those days will I pour my Spirit.
30 And I will show [r]wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The [s]sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.
32 But whosoever shall call [t]on the Name of the Lord, shall be saved: for in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance as the Lord hath said, and in the [u]remnant, whom the Lord shall call.
Footnotes
- Joel 2:1 He showeth the great judgments of God, which are at hand, except they repent.
- Joel 2:2 Of affliction and trouble.
- Joel 2:2 Meaning, the Assyrians.
- Joel 2:3 The enemy destroyed our plentiful country, wheresoever he cometh.
- Joel 2:6 They shall be pale and black for fear, as Nah. 2:10.
- Joel 2:8 For none shall be able to resist them.
- Joel 2:10 Read Joel 2:31 and Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 3:15; Matt. 24:29.
- Joel 2:11 The Lord shall stir up the Assyrians to execute his judgments.
- Joel 2:13 Mortify your affections and serve God with pureness of heart, and not with ceremonies.
- Joel 2:14 He speaketh this to stir up their slothfulness, and not that he doubted of God’s mercies, if they did repent. How God repenteth, read Jer. 18:8.
- Joel 2:16 That as all have sinned, so all may show forth signs of their repentance, that men seeing the children which are not free from God’s wrath, might be the more lively touched with the consideration of their own sins.
- Joel 2:18 If they repent he showeth that God will preserve and defend them with a most ardent affection.
- Joel 2:20 That is, the Assyrians your enemies.
- Joel 2:20 Called the salt sea, or Persian sea: meaning, that though his army were so great that it filled all from this sea to the sea called Mediterranean, yet he would scatter them.
- Joel 2:23 That is, such as should come by just measure, and as was wont to be sent when God was reconciled with them.
- Joel 2:28 That is, in greater abundance, and more generally than in times past: and this was fulfilled under Christ, when as God’s graces, and his Spirit under the Gospel was abundantly given to the Church, Isa. 44:3; Acts 2:17; John 7:38, 39.
- Joel 2:28 As they had visions and dreams in old time, so shall they now have clearer revelations.
- Joel 2:30 He warneth the faithful what terrible things should come, to the intent that they should not look for continual quietness in this world, and yet in all these troubles he would preserve them.
- Joel 2:31 The order of nature shall seem to be changed for the horrible afflictions that shall be in the world, Isa. 13:10; Ezek. 32:7; Joel 3:15; Matt. 24:29.
- Joel 2:32 God’s judgments are for the destruction of the infidels, and to move the godly to call upon the Name of God, who will give them salvation.
- Joel 2:32 Meaning hereby the Gentiles, Rom. 10:13.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
