Joel 2:23

2:23 Citizens of Zion, ¹  rejoice!

Be glad because of what the Lord your God has done! ² 

For he has given to you the early rains ³  as vindication.

He has sent ⁴  to you the rains –

both the early and the late rains ⁵  as formerly.

Joel 3:13

3:13 Rush forth with ⁶  the sickle, for the harvest is ripe!

Come, stomp the grapes, ⁷  for the winepress is full!

The vats overflow.

Indeed, their evil is great! ⁸ 

[2:23]  ¹ tn Heb “sons of Zion.”

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

[2:23]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “caused to come down.”

[2:23]  ⁵ 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.

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “send.”

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “go down” or “tread.” The Hebrew term רְדוּ (rÿdu) may be from יָרַד (yarad, “to go down”) or from רָדָה (radah, “have dominion,” here in the sense of “to tread”). If it means “go down,” the reference would be to entering the vat to squash the grapes. If it means “tread,” the verb would refer specifically to the action of those who walk over the grapes to press out their juice. The phrase “the grapes” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[3:13]  ⁸ sn The immediacy of judgment upon wickedness is likened to the urgency required for a harvest that has reached its pinnacle of development. When the harvest is completely ripe, there can be no delay by the reapers in gathering the harvest. In a similar way, Joel envisions a time when human wickedness will reach such a heightened degree that there can be no further stay of divine judgment (cf. the “fullness of time” language in Gal 4:4).