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! ¹ 

Joel 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ²  his voice bellows out. ³ 

The heavens ⁴  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ⁵  of Israel.

Joel 2:8

2:8 They do not jostle one another; ⁶ 

each of them marches straight ahead. ⁷ 

They burst through ⁸  the city defenses ⁹ 

and do not break ranks.

Joel 2:24

2:24 The threshing floors are full of grain;

the vats overflow with fresh wine and olive oil.

Joel 3:11

3:11 Lend your aid ¹⁰  and come,

all you surrounding nations,

and gather yourselves ¹¹  to that place.”

Bring down, O Lord, your warriors! ¹² 

Joel 2:20

2:20 I will remove the one from the north ¹³  far from you.

I will drive him out to a dry and desolate place.

Those in front will be driven eastward into the Dead Sea, ¹⁴ 

and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁵ 

His stench will rise up as a foul smell.” ¹⁶ 

Indeed, the Lord ¹⁷  has accomplished great things.

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “I will return your recompense on your head.”

[3:16]  ² map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

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

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ⁵ tn Heb “sons.”

[2:8]  ³ tn “each one does not crowd his brother.”

[2:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “each warrior walks in his own course.”

[2:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “they fall upon.” This line has been interpreted in two different ways: (1) although they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded (KJV), or (2) when they “burst through” the city’s defenses, they will not break ranks (RSV, NASB, NIV, NIrV).

[2:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “missile” or “javelin.” This term appears to function as a synecdoche for the city’s defenses as a whole (cf. NASB, NIV, TEV). Some scholars instead understand the reference to be an aqueduct by which the locusts (or armies) entered the city.

[3:11]  ⁴ tn This Hebrew verb is found only here in the OT; its meaning is uncertain. Some scholars prefer to read here עוּרוּ (’uru, “arouse”) or חוּשׁוּ (khushu, “hasten”).

[3:11]  ⁵ tc The present translation follows the reading of the imperative הִקָּבְצוּ (hiqqavÿtsu) rather than the perfect with vav (ו) consecutive וְנִקְבָּצוּ (vÿniqbbatsu) of the MT.

[3:11]  ⁶ tc Some commentators prefer to delete the line “Bring down, O Lord, your warriors,” understanding it to be a later addition. But this is unnecessary. Contrary to what some have suggested, a prayer for the Lord’s intervention is not out of place here.

[2:20]  ⁵ sn The allusion to the one from the north is best understood as having locusts in view. It is not correct to say that this reference to the enemy who came form the north excludes the possibility of a reference to locusts and must be understood as human armies. Although locust plagues usually approached Palestine from the east or southeast, the severe plague of 1915, for example, came from the northeast.

[2:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “his face to the eastern sea.” In this context the eastern sea is probably the Dead Sea.

[2:20]  ⁷ tn Heb “and his rear to the western sea.” The western sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea.

[2:20]  ⁸ sn Heb “and his foul smell will ascend.” The foul smell probably refers to the unpleasant odor of decayed masses of dead locusts. The Hebrew word for “foul smell” is found only here in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word for “stench” appears only here and in Isa 34:3 and Amos 4:10. In the latter references it refers to the stench of dead corpses on a field of battle.

[2:20]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew text does not have “the Lord.” Two interpretations are possible. This clause may refer to the enemy described in the immediately preceding verses, in which case it would have a negative sense: “he has acted in a high-handed manner.” Or it may refer to the Lord, in which case it would have a positive sense: “the Lord has acted in a marvelous manner.” This is clearly the sense of the same expression in v. 21, where in fact “the Lord” appears as the subject of the verb. It seems best to understand the clause the same way in both verses.