Joel 2:5

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.


tn Heb “like the sound of.”

tn Heb “jostling” or “leaping.” There is question whether this pictures chariots rumbling over the mountains (e.g., 2 Sam 6:14,16; 1 Chr 15:29; Nah 3:2) or the locusts flying – or “leaping” – over the mountains (e.g., Job 21:11); see BDB 955 s.v. רָקַד.

tn Heb “sound.”

tn The phrase “the noise of” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is implied by the parallelism, so it has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

tn Heb “people.”

tn Heb “being arrayed of battle.”