Joel 2:4

2:4 They look like horses; ¹ 

they charge ahead like war horses.

Joel 2:19

2:19 The Lord responded ²  to his people,

“Look! I am about to restore your grain ³ 

as well as fresh wine and olive oil.

You will be fully satisfied. ⁴ 

I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.

Joel 3:1

The Lord Plans to Judge the Nations

3:1 (4:1) ⁵  For look! In those ⁶  days and at that time

I will return the exiles ⁷  to Judah and Jerusalem. ⁸ 

Joel 3:7

3:7 Look! I am rousing them from that place to which you sold them.

I will repay you for what you have done! ⁹ 

Joel 2:3

2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹⁰ 

a flame blazes behind them.

The land looks like the Garden of Eden ¹¹  before them,

but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –

for nothing escapes them! ¹² 

Joel 2:5

2:5 They sound like ¹³  chariots rumbling ¹⁴  over mountain tops,

like the crackling ¹⁵  of blazing fire consuming stubble,

like the noise of ¹⁶  a mighty army ¹⁷  being drawn up for battle. ¹⁸ 

[2:4]  ¹ tn Heb “Like the appearance of horses [is] its appearance.”

[2:19]  ² tn Heb “answered and said.”

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “Look! I am sending grain to you.” The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to suggest imminent action.

[2:19]  ⁴ tc One of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXII^c) inserts “and you will eat” before “and you will be fully satisfied” (the reading of the MT, LXX).

[3:1]  ³ sn Joel 3:1 in the English Bible is 4:1 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note at 2:28.

[3:1]  ⁴ tc The MT and LXX read “in those days,” while MurXII reads “in that day.”

[3:1]  ⁵ tc The Kethib reads אָשִׁיב (’ashiv, “return the captivity [captives]), while the Qere is אָשׁוּב (’ashuv, “restore the fortunes”). Many modern English versions follow the Qere reading. Either reading seems to fit the context. Joel refers to an exile of the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem in 3:2-6 and their return from exile in 3:7. On the other hand, 2:25-26 describes the reversal of judgment and restoration of the covenant blessings. However, the former seems to be the concern of the immediate context.

[3:1]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “I will return your recompense on your head.”

[2:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “a fire devours before it.”

[2:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the garden of Eden, the land is before them.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “and surely a survivor there is not for it.” The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is apparently עַם (’am, “people”) of v. 2, which seems to be a figurative way of referring to the locusts. K&D 26:191-92 thought that the antecedent of this pronoun was “land,” but the masculine gender of the pronoun does not support this.

[2:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “like the sound of.”

[2:5]  ⁷ 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.

[2:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “sound.”

[2:5]  ⁹ 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.

[2:5]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “people.”

[2:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “being arrayed of battle.”