Joel 3:15

3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;

the stars withhold ¹  their brightness.

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. ² 

Joel 2:10

2:10 The earth quakes ³  before them; ⁴ 

the sky reverberates. ⁵ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ⁶ 

Joel 1:14

1:14 Announce a holy fast; ⁷ 

proclaim a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and ⁸  all the inhabitants of the land

to the temple of the Lord your God,

and cry out to the Lord.

[3:15]  ¹ tn Heb “gather in.”

[2:16]  ² 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.

[2:10]  ³ sn Witnesses of locust invasions have described the visual effect of large numbers of these creatures crawling over one another on the ground. At such times the ground is said to appear to be in motion, creating a dizzying effect on some observers. The reference in v. 10 to the darkening of the sun and moon probably has to do with the obscuring of visibility due to large numbers of locusts swarming in the sky.

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”

[1:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).

[1:14]  ⁵ tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXII^c and 4QXII^g).