2:6 People 1 writhe in fear when they see them. 2
All of their faces turn pale with fright. 3
2:10 The earth quakes 4 before them; 5
the sky reverberates. 6
The sun and the moon grow dark;
the stars refuse to shine. 7
1 tn Or “nations.”
2 tn Heb “before it.”
3 tn Heb “all faces gather beauty”; or “all faces gather a glow.” The Hebrew word פָּארוּר (pa’rur) is found in the OT only here and in Nah 2:11. Its meaning is very uncertain. Some scholars associate it with a root that signifies “glowing”; hence “all faces gather a glow of dread.” Others associate the word with פָּרוּר (parur, “pot”); hence “all faces gather blackness.” Still others take the root to signify “beauty”; hence “all faces gather in their beauty” in the sense of growing pale due to fear. This is the view assumed here.
4 sn Witnesses of locust invasions have described the visual effect of large numbers of these creatures crawling over one another on the ground. At such times the ground is said to appear to be in motion, creating a dizzying effect on some observers. The reference in v. 10 to the darkening of the sun and moon probably has to do with the obscuring of visibility due to large numbers of locusts swarming in the sky.
5 tn Heb “before it.”
6 tn Heb “trembles.”
7 tn Heb “gather their brightness.”