1 Blow the horn in Zion; p
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the residents of the land tremble,
for the day of the LORD is coming; q
in fact, it is near—
2 a day of darkness and gloom, r
a day of clouds and total darkness, s
like the dawn spreading over the mountains;
a great and strong people t appears,
such as never existed in ages past u
and never will again
in all the generations to come. v
3 A fire devours in front of them, w
and behind them a flame blazes.
The land in front of them
is like the garden of Eden, x
but behind them,
it is like a desert wasteland; y
there is no escape from them.
4 Their appearance is like that of horses, z
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots, a
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, b
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them; c
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path, d
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each proceeds on his own path.
They dodge the arrows, never stopping.
9 They storm the city;
they run on the wall;
they climb into the houses; e
they enter through the windows like thieves. f
10 The earth quakes before them; g
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark, h
and the stars cease their shining. i
11 The LORD makes his voice heard j
in the presence of his army. k
His camp is very large;
those who carry out his command are powerful. l
Indeed, the day of the LORD is terrible and dreadful m—
who can endure it? n
God’s Call for Repentance
12 Even now—
this is the LORD’S declaration—
turn to me with all your heart, o
with fasting, weeping, and mourning. p
13 Tear your hearts, q
not just your clothes, r
and return to the LORD your God.
For he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger, abounding in faithful love,
and he relents from sending disaster. s
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent t
and leave a blessing behind him, u
so you can offer grain and wine
to the LORD your God. v
15 Blow the horn in Zion! w
Announce a sacred fast; x
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation; y
assemble the aged; ,z
gather the infants,
even babies nursing at the breast.
Let the groom leave his bedroom, a
and the bride her honeymoon chamber.
17 Let the priests, b the LORD’S ministers,
weep between the portico and the altar. c
Let them say:
“Have pity on your people, LORD, d
and do not make your inheritance a disgrace, e
an object of scorn among the nations.
Why should it be said among the peoples,
‘Where is their God? ’ ” f
God’s Response to His People
18 Then the LORD became jealous for his land g and spared his people. h 19 The LORD answered his people:
Look, I am about to send you
grain, new wine, and fresh oil. i
You will be satiated with them,
and I will no longer make you
a disgrace among the nations. j
20 I will drive the northerner far from you k
and banish him to a dry and desolate land,
his front ranks into the Dead Sea, l
and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. m
His stench will rise;
yes, his rotten smell will rise, n
for he has done astonishing things.
21 Don’t be afraid, land; o
rejoice and be glad,
for the LORD has done astonishing things. p
22 Don’t be afraid, wild animals,
for the wilderness pastures have turned green, q
the trees bear their fruit,
and the fig tree and grapevine yield their riches.
23 Children of Zion, r rejoice and be glad
in the LORD your God, s
because he gives you the autumn rain
for your vindication. ,t
He sends showers for you,
both autumn and spring rain u as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain, v
and the vats will overflow
with new wine and fresh oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust ate, w
the young locust, the destroying locust,
and the devouring locust—
my great army that I sent against you.
26 You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. x
You will praise the name of the LORD your God, y
who has dealt wondrously with you. z
My people will never again be put to shame. a
27 You will know that I am present in Israel b
and that I am the LORD your God,
and there is no other. c
My people will never again be put to shame. d
God’s Promise of His Spirit
28 After this e
I will pour out my Spirit f on all humanity; g
then your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will have dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 I will even pour out my Spirit
on the male and female slaves in those days. h
30 I will display wonders
in the heavens and on the earth: i
blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood j
before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. k
32 Then everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved, l
for there will be an escape
for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
as the LORD promised, m
among the survivors the LORD calls.
A. The devastating consequences of Judah’s invasion by its enemies (2:1–11). The blowing of the horn, or shofar, an instrument made from a ram’s horn, normally signifies a call of strength or victory (2:1a). The command to sound the horn here serves as a warning to the people of an approaching danger for which they should prepare (cf. Jr 4:5, 19–21; 6:17; Is 18:3; Ezk 33:3–6; Hs 8:1). Joel announces the imminent arrival of “the day of the LORD” (2:1b–2) in ominous terms, as a large army converges on Judah from the north, obliterating the landscape and wreaking chaos and destruction in its wake (2:3–9). The blowing of the shofar in Zephaniah (1:16) also heralds the infamous day of the Lord.
2:12–13. In a second appeal (cf. 1:13–14), the Lord calls for Judah’s repentance (2:12). The prophet instructs the people to rend their hearts rather than their garments (2:13a). The ripping of garments publicly signified deep internal grief; however, the prophet asks not for outward expressions of mourning but for an internal response of true sorrow and penitence.
2:14–16. Joel argues on the basis of the Lord’s character that the Lord may recognize true repentance and mitigate his wrath against Judah. When Joel suggests that the Lord will “relent,” he is using human language to describe God’s unfathomable will in refraining from immediate divine judgment (2:14a). Joel reinforces the inscrutability of God’s actions by the rhetorical expression, “Who knows?” The text recalls the practice of gleaning, or allowing the poor to gather the remnants of harvest intentionally left behind. Joel suggests that the Lord may “bless” Judah by providing the means for offering temple sacrifices and reinstating its position of favor with God (2:14b).
2:17. Joel draws from language typically associated with a standard appeal for the Lord’s favor, calling attention to the Lord’s reputation among the nations, which is directly affected by whether he will preserve the nation associated with his name. By allowing the nations to obliterate his people, the Lord brings reproach on himself. The rhetorical question, “Why should it be said among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’” appears in similar contexts that frame the people’s lament from the perspective of the Lord’s reputation (Pss 42:3, 10; 79:10; 115:2). The assembly enjoins the Lord not to allow his people to be ridiculed by the Gentiles (cf. Ps 79:4).
A. The Lord’s conquest of the enemy restores productivity to the land (2:18–27). 2:18–19. The jealousy of God (2:18) provokes his desire for vengeance against the nations who have tormented his people. Deuteronomy describes the Lord’s jealousy as his demand for exclusivity among the Israelites (Dt 32:16, 21; cf. Is 42:13; 59:17; Zch 1:14). The Hebrew term for “to be jealous” (qana) is related to the verb meaning “to acquire (as property)” (qanah). God envisions Israel as his “property,” and those who encroach on them and seek to snatch them away from him arouse his fierce anger.
2:20–24. Joel prophesies concerning the hasty retreat of the invading army from the Lord and into the wilderness (2:20). Subsequently, half are driven toward the Dead Sea in the east and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, where both groups seem to die. The imagery is reminiscent of the demise of Pharaoh’s army in Egypt following the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. The prophet calls on the land (2:21), the animals and vegetation (2:22), and the people of Zion (2:23) to rejoice in the Lord’s rescue and restoration.
2:25–27. Suffering and adversity provide the occasion for glorifying God and affirming his sovereignty. The Lord declares that he will repay (from the same Hebrew root as shalom) his people for the losses they have endured as a result of the drought, the insect invasion, and the Babylonian conquest (2:25). God punishes his people not out of malice but rather to chastise them and purify them so they may once again enjoy a relationship with him.
2:28–29. Joel characterizes the day of the Lord as the “pour[ing] out [of] my Spirit” on everyone, without distinction. The pouring out of the Spirit is normally associated with the advent of prophetic gifts (1 Sm 10:6–10; 18:10; 1 Kg 22:22–23; Neh 9:30; Zch 7:12; 13:2); therefore, prophetic abilities will be poured out on all of Israel during this great age.
2:30–32. Darkness prevails during the impending day of the Lord, and natural aberrations, such as earthquakes, fire, smoke, and a bloodred moon signal the salvation of Judah and the doom of judgment (2:30–31; cf. Am 8:9; Is 60:2). These cosmological disruptions evoke imagery associated with theophany (God’s physical revelation to convey information) or epiphany (God’s physical intervention to deliver his people). Physical manifestations of the Lord, such as the pillar of cloud and fire during the exodus, are replaced with immediate and personal access to the Lord. Only those who repent and rely solely on God will endure the day of the Lord (2:32).