Joel 2:14

2:14 Who knows?

Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, ¹ 

and leave blessing in his wake ²  –

a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! ³ 

Joel 1:13-14

1:13 Get dressed ⁴  and lament, you priests!

Wail, you who minister at the altar!

Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,

because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings

to the temple of your God anymore. ⁵ 

1:14 Announce a holy fast; ⁶ 

proclaim a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and ⁷  all the inhabitants of the land

to the temple of the Lord your God,

and cry out to the Lord.

Joel 2:23

2:23 Citizens of Zion, ⁸  rejoice!

Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! ⁹ 

For he has given to you the early rains ¹⁰  as vindication.

He has sent ¹¹  to you the rains –

both the early and the late rains ¹²  as formerly.

Joel 2:26-27

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ¹³ 

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 3:17

The Lord’s Presence in Zion

3:17 You will be convinced ¹⁴  that I the Lord am your God,

dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem ¹⁵  will be holy –

conquering armies ¹⁶  will no longer pass through it.

Joel 2:13

2:13 Return to the Lord your God,

for he is merciful and compassionate,

slow to anger and boundless in loyal love ¹⁷  – often relenting from calamitous punishment. ¹⁸ 

[2:14]  ¹ tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”

[2:14]  ² tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”

[2:14]  ³ tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “put on.” There is no object present in the Hebrew text, but many translations assume “sackcloth” to be the understood object of the verb “put on.” Its absence in the Hebrew text of v. 13 is probably due to metrical considerations. The meter here is 3 + 3, and that has probably influenced the prophet’s choice of words.

[1:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “for grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.”

[1:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).

[1:14]  ⁸ tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXII^c and 4QXII^g).

[2:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “sons of Zion.”

[2:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “be glad in the Lord your God.”

[2:23]  ¹² tn Normally the Hebrew word הַמּוֹרֶה (hammoreh) means “the teacher,” but here and in Ps 84:7 it refers to “early rains.” Elsewhere the word for “early rains” is יוֹרֶה (yoreh). The phrase here הַמּוֹרֶה לִצְדָקָה (hammoreh litsdaqah) is similar to the expression “teacher of righteousness” (Heb., מוֹרֶה הַצֶּדֶק , moreh hatsedeq) found in the Dead Sea Scrolls referring to a particular charismatic leader, although the Qumran community seems not to have invoked this text in support of that notion.

[2:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “caused to come down.”

[2:23]  ¹⁴ sn For half the year Palestine is generally dry. The rainy season begins with the early rains usually in late October to early December, followed by the latter rains in March and April. Without these rains productive farming would not be possible, as Joel’s original readers knew only too well.

[2:26]  ¹³ tn Heb “you will surely eat and be satisfied.”

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “know.”

[3:17]  ¹⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “strangers” or “foreigners.” In context, this refers to invasions by conquering armies.

[2:13]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”

[2:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”