21:27 A total ruin I will make it! 1
It will come to an end
when the one arrives to whom I have assigned judgment.’ 2
7:23 “This is what he told me: 9
‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth
that will differ from all the other kingdoms.
It will devour all the earth
and will trample and crush it.
7:24 The ten horns
mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom.
Another king will arise after them,
but he will be different from the earlier ones.
He will humiliate 10 three kings.
7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass 11 the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention 12 will be to change times established by law. 13
They will be delivered into his hand
For a time, times, 14 and half a time.
3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:
“Prepare for a holy war!
Call out the warriors!
Let all these fighting men approach and attack! 15
3:10 Beat your plowshares 16 into swords,
and your pruning hooks 17 into spears! 18
Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ 19
3:11 Lend your aid 20 and come,
all you surrounding nations,
and gather yourselves 21 to that place.”
Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! 22
3:12 Let the nations be roused and let them go up
to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
for there I will sit in judgment on all the surrounding nations.
3:13 Rush forth with 23 the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!
Come, stomp the grapes, 24 for the winepress is full!
The vats overflow.
Indeed, their evil is great! 25
3:14 Crowds, great crowds are in the valley of decision,
for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision! 26
3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;
the stars withhold 27 their brightness.
3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;
from Jerusalem 28 his voice bellows out. 29
The heavens 30 and the earth shake.
But the Lord is a refuge for his people;
he is a stronghold for the citizens 31 of Israel.
21:10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise up in arms 32 against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and famines 33 and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights 34 and great signs 35 from heaven.
1 tn Heb “A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it.” The threefold repetition of the noun “ruin” is for emphasis and draws attention to the degree of ruin that would take place. See IBHS 233 §12.5a and GKC 431-32 §133.k. The pronominal suffix (translated “it”) on the verb “make” is feminine in Hebrew. The probable antecedent is the “turban/crown” (both nouns are feminine in form) mentioned in verse 26. The point is that the king’s royal splendor would be completely devastated as judgment overtook his realm and brought his reign to a violent end.
2 tn Heb “Also this, he was not, until the coming of the one to whom the judgment belongs and I have given it.” The Hebrew text, as it stands, is grammatically difficult. The pronoun “this” is feminine, while the following negated verb (“was not”) is masculine. Some emend the verb to a feminine form (see BHS). In this case the statement refers to the destiny of the king’s turban/crown (symbolizing his reign). See the previous note. The preposition translated “when” normally means “until,” but here it seems to refer to the period during which the preceding situation is realized, rather than its termination point. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:19, 21. The second part of the statement, though awkward, probably refers to the arrival of the Babylonian king, to whom the Lord had assigned the task of judgment (see 23:24). Or the verse may read “A total ruin I will make, even this. It will not be until the one comes to whom is (the task of) judgment and I have assigned it.”
3 tn Aram “after this.”
4 tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.
6 tn Aram “greater than its companions.”
7 tn Aram “prevailing against” (KJV and ASV both similar); NASB “overpowering them”; TEV “conquered them.”
8 tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yÿhav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yÿhiv]).
9 tn Aram “thus he said.”
10 tn Or “subjugate”; KJV, NASB, NIV “subdue”; ASV, NRSV “put down.”
11 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
12 tn Aram “he will think.”
13 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
14 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”
15 tn Heb “draw near and go up.”
16 sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.
17 sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.
18 sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.
19 sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.
20 tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).
21 tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.
22 tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O
23 tn Heb “send.”
24 tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.
25 sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).
26 sn The decision referred to here is not a response on the part of the crowd, but the verdict handed out by the divine judge.
27 tn Heb “gather in.”
28 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
29 tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”
30 tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.
31 tn Heb “sons.”
32 tn For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
33 sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.
34 tn This term, φόβητρον (fobhtron), occurs only here in the NT. It could refer to an object, event, or condition that causes fear, but in the context it is linked with great signs from heaven, so the translation “sights” was preferred.
35 sn See Jer 4:13-22; 14:12; 21:6-7.