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.

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.

Joel 2:26-27

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied;

you will praise the name of the Lord your God,

who has acted wondrously in your behalf.

My people will never again be put to shame.

2:27 You will be convinced that I am in the midst of Israel.

I am the Lord your God; there is no other.

My people will never again be put to shame.

Joel 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem his voice bellows out. 10 

The heavens 11  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens 12  of Israel.


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.”

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.

13 tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”

19 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

20 tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

21 tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

22 tn Heb “sons.”