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Text -- Joel 2:1-21 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
The Locusts’ Devastation
2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion ; sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain ! Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear , for the day of the Lord is about to come . Indeed , it is near !
2:2 It will be a day of dreadful darkness , a day of foreboding storm clouds , like blackness spread over the mountains . It is a huge and powerful army – there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come !
2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path; a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them!
2:4 They look like horses ; they charge ahead like war horses .
2:5 They sound like chariots rumbling over mountain tops , like the crackling of blazing fire consuming stubble , like the noise of a mighty army being drawn up for battle .
2:6 People writhe in fear when they see them. All of their faces turn pale with fright.
2:7 They charge like warriors ; they scale walls like soldiers . Each one proceeds on his course ; they do not alter their path .
2:8 They do not jostle one another ; each of them marches straight ahead . They burst through the city defenses and do not break ranks .
2:9 They rush into the city ; they scale its walls . They climb up into the houses ; they go in through the windows like a thief .
2:10 The earth quakes before them; the sky reverberates . The sun and the moon grow dark ; the stars refuse to shine .
2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders as he leads his army . Indeed , his warriors are innumerable ; Surely his command is carried out ! Yes , the day of the Lord is awesome and very terrifying – who can survive it?
An Appeal for Repentance
2:12 “Yet even now ,” the Lord says , “return to me with all your heart – with fasting , weeping , and mourning . Tear your hearts, not just your garments!”
2:13 Return to the Lord your God , for he is merciful and compassionate , slow to anger and boundless in loyal love – often relenting from calamitous punishment .
2:14 Who knows ? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve , and leave blessing in his wake– a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God !
2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion . Announce a holy fast ; proclaim a sacred assembly !
2:16 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 .
2:17 Let the priests , those who serve the Lord , weep from the vestibule all the way back to the altar . Let them say , “Have pity , O Lord , on your people ; please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked , to become a proverb among the nations . Why should it be said among the peoples , “Where is their God ?”
The Lord’s Response
2:18 Then the Lord became zealous for his land ; he had compassion on his people .
2:19 The Lord responded to his people , “Look ! I am about to restore your grain as well as fresh wine and olive oil . You will be fully satisfied . I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations .
2:20 I will remove the one from the north far from you. I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place . Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea , and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea . His stench will rise up as a foul smell .” Indeed , the Lord has accomplished great things .
2:21 Do not fear , my land ! Rejoice and be glad , because the Lord has accomplished great things !
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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Joe 2:1; Joe 2:1; Joe 2:1; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:2; Joe 2:3; Joe 2:3; Joe 2:3; Joe 2:4; Joe 2:4; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:5; Joe 2:6; Joe 2:6; Joe 2:6; Joe 2:7; Joe 2:7; Joe 2:7; Joe 2:7; Joe 2:8; Joe 2:8; Joe 2:8; Joe 2:8; Joe 2:9; Joe 2:9; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:10; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:11; Joe 2:12; Joe 2:13; Joe 2:13; Joe 2:14; Joe 2:14; Joe 2:14; Joe 2:15; Joe 2:16; Joe 2:17; Joe 2:17; Joe 2:17; Joe 2:18; Joe 2:19; Joe 2:19; Joe 2:19; Joe 2:20; Joe 2:20; Joe 2:20; Joe 2:20; Joe 2:20
NET Notes: Joe 2:1 The interpretation of 2:1-11 is very difficult. Four views may be mentioned here. (1) Some commentators understand this section to be describing a hum...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:3 Heb “and surely a survivor there is not for it.” The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is apparently עַם (̵...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:4 The fact that a locust’s head resembles a miniature replica of a horse’s head has often been noticed. For example, the German word for loc...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:6 Heb “all faces gather beauty”; or “all faces gather a glow.” The Hebrew word פָּארוּ...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:8 Heb “missile” or “javelin.” This term appears to function as a synecdoche for the city’s defenses as a whole (cf. NASB, ...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:11 Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) has “bear.”
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NET Notes: Joe 2:12 The figurative language calls for genuine repentance, and not merely external ritual that goes through the motions.
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NET Notes: Joe 2:14 The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
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NET Notes: Joe 2:16 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 mil...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:18 The time-frame entertained by the verbs of v.18 constitutes a crux interpretum in this chapter. The Hebrew verb forms used here are preterites with va...
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NET Notes: Joe 2:19 One of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) inserts “and you will eat” before “and you will be fully satisfied” (the reading of th...
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