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An Appeal for Repentance

12 “Yet even now,” the Lord says,
“return to me with all your heart—
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Tear your hearts,[a]
not just your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love[b]—often relenting from calamitous punishment.[c]
14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve,[d]
and leave blessing in his wake[e]
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God![f]
15 Blow the trumpet[g] in Zion.

Announce a holy fast;
proclaim a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters.[h]
17 Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep
from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.[i]
Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;
please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,
to become a proverb[j] among the nations.
Why should it be said[k] among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:13 sn The figurative language calls for genuine repentance and not merely external ritual that goes through the motions.
  2. Joel 2:13 tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”
  3. Joel 2:13 tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”
  4. Joel 2:14 tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”
  5. Joel 2:14 tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”
  6. Joel 2:14 tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
  7. Joel 2:15 tn See the note on this term in 2:1.
  8. Joel 2:16 sn Mosaic law allowed men recently married, or about to be married, to be exempt for a year from certain duties that were normally mandatory, such as military obligation (cf. Deut 20:7; 24:5). However, Joel pictures a time of such urgency that normal expectations must give way to higher requirements.
  9. Joel 2:17 tn Heb “between the vestibule and the altar.” The vestibule was located at the entrance of the temple, and the altar was located at the other end of the building. So “between the vestibule and the altar” is a merism referring to the entire structure. The priestly lament permeates the entire house of worship.
  10. Joel 2:17 tn For the MT reading לִמְשָׁל (limshol, an infinitive, “to rule”), one should probably instead read לְמָשָׁל (lemashal, a noun, “to a byword”). While the consonantal Hebrew text permits either, the context suggests that the concern here is more a fear of abandonment by God to ongoing economic depression than a fear of the potential political subjugation of Israel (cf. v. 19). The possibility that the form in the MT is an infinitive construct of the denominative verb II מָשַׁל (mashal, “to utter a proverb”) does not seem likely because of the following preposition (Hebrew בְּ [be], rather than עַל [’al]).
  11. Joel 2:17 tn Heb “Why will they say?”

12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn ye unto me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: 13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness, and repenteth him of the evil. 14 Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly; 16 gather the people, sanctify the assembly, assemble the [a]old men, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Jehovah, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the nations should [b]rule over them: wherefore should they say among the peoples, Where is their God?

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Footnotes

  1. Joel 2:16 Or, elders
  2. Joel 2:17 Or, use a byword against them