Joel 2:5

2:5 They sound like ¹  chariots rumbling ²  over mountain tops,

like the crackling ³  of blazing fire consuming stubble,

like the noise of ⁴  a mighty army ⁵  being drawn up for battle. ⁶ 

Joel 2:16

2:16 Gather the people;

sanctify an assembly!

Gather the elders;

gather the children and the nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom

and the bride from her private quarters. ⁷ 

Joel 2:26-27

2:26 You will have plenty to eat,

and your hunger will be fully satisfied; ⁸ 

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 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ⁹  his voice bellows out. ¹⁰ 

The heavens ¹¹  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ¹²  of Israel.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “like the sound of.”

[2:5]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “sound.”

[2:5]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “people.”

[2:5]  ⁶ tn Heb “being arrayed of battle.”

[2:16]  ⁷ sn Mosaic law allowed men recently married, or about to be married, to be exempt for a year from certain duties that were normally mandatory, such as military obligation (cf. Deut 20:7; 24:5). However, Joel pictures a time of such urgency that normal expectations must give way to higher requirements.

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

[3:16]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

[3:16]  ²¹ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ²² tn Heb “sons.”