Joel 2:15

2:15 Blow the trumpet 1  in Zion.

Announce a holy fast;

proclaim a sacred assembly!

Joel 1:14

1:14 Announce a holy fast; 2 

proclaim a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and 3  all the inhabitants of the land

to the temple of the Lord your God,

and cry out to the Lord.

Joel 2:16

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. 4 

Joel 3:11

3:11 Lend your aid 5  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves 6  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! 7 

1 tn See the note on this term in 2:1.

2 tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).

3 tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXIIc and 4QXIIg).

3 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.

4 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”).

5 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.

6 tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.