Joel 1:2

A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord

1:2 Listen to this, you elders; ¹ 

pay attention, ²  all inhabitants of the land.

Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life ³ 

or in the lifetime ⁴  of your ancestors? ⁵ 

Joel 3:4

3:4 Why are you doing these things to me, Tyre and Sidon? ⁶ 

Are you trying to get even with me, land of Philistia? ⁷ 

I will very quickly repay you for what you have done! ⁸ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “give ear.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[3:4]  ⁶ tn Heb “What [are] you [doing] to me, O Tyre and Sidon?”

[3:4]  ⁷ tn Or “districts.”

[3:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “quickly, speedily, I will return your recompense on your head.” This is an idiom for retributive justice and an equitable reversal of situation.