The chat will start when you send the first message.
1This is the Lord ’s message that was given[#sn The dating of the book of Joel is a matter of dispute. Some scholars date the book as early as the ninth century b.c., during the reign of the boy-king Joash. This view is largely based on the following factors: an argument from silence (e.g., the book of Joel does not mention a king, perhaps because other officials de facto carried out his responsibilities, and there is no direct mention in the book of such later Israelite enemies as the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians); inconclusive literary assumptions (e.g., the eighth-century prophet Amos in Amos 9:13 alludes to Joel 3:18); the canonical position of the book (i.e., it is the second book of the Minor Prophets); and literary style (i.e., the book is thought to differ in style from the postexilic prophetic writings). While such an early date for the book is not impossible, none of the arguments used to support it is compelling. Later dates for the book that have been defended by various scholars are, for example, the late seventh century or early sixth century or sometime in the postexilic period (anytime from late sixth century to late fourth century). Most modern scholars seem to date the book of Joel sometime between 400 and 350 b.c. For a helpful discussion of date see J. A. Thompson, “The Date of the Book of Joel,” A Light unto My Path, 453-64. Related to the question of date is a major exegetical issue: Is the army of chapter two to be understood figuratively as describing the locust invasion of chapter one, or is the topic of chapter two an invasion of human armies, either the Babylonians or an eschatological foe? If the enemy could be conclusively identified as the Babylonians, for example, this would support a sixth-century date for the book.; #tn Heb “the word of the Lord.”; #tn Heb “that was.” The term “given” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.]
to Joel the son of Pethuel:
2Listen to this, you elders;[#sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.]
pay attention, all inhabitants of the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life
or in the lifetime of your ancestors?
3Tell your children about it,[#tn Heb “sons.” This word occurs several times in this verse.]
have your children tell their children,
and their children the following generation.
4What the gazam -locust left the ‘arbeh -locust consumed,[#tn Heb “eaten.” This verb is repeated three times in v. 4 to emphasize the total devastation of the crops by this locust invasion.]
what the ‘arbeh -locust left the yeleq -locust consumed,
and what the yeleq -locust left the hasil -locust consumed!
5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep![#sn The word drunkards has a double edge here. Those accustomed to drinking too much must now lament the unavailability of wine. It also may hint that the people in general have become religiously inebriated and are unresponsive to the Lord. They are, as it were, drunkards from a spiritual standpoint.]
Wail, all you wine drinkers,
because the sweet wine has been taken away from you.
6For a nation has invaded our land.[#sn As becomes increasingly clear in what follows, this nation is to be understood figuratively. It refers to the locust invasion as viewed from the standpoint of its methodical, destructive advance across the land (BDB 156 s.v. גּוֹי 2). This term is used figuratively to refer to animals one other time (Zeph 2:14).; #tn Heb “has come up against.”; #tn Heb “my.”]
There are so many of them they are too numerous to count.
Their teeth are like those of a lion;
they tear apart their prey like a lioness.
7They have destroyed our vines;[#tn Heb “it.” Throughout vv. 6-7 the Hebrew uses singular forms to describe the locust swarm, but the translation uses plural forms because several details of the text make more sense in English as if they are describing the appearance and effects of individual locusts.; #tn Heb “my.”; #tn Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.]
they have turned our fig trees into mere splinters.
They have completely stripped off the bark and thrown them aside;
the twigs are stripped bare.
8Wail like a young virgin clothed in sackcloth,[#sn The verb is feminine singular, raising a question concerning its intended antecedent. A plural verb would be expected here, the idea being that all the inhabitants of the land should grieve. Perhaps Joel is thinking specifically of the city of Jerusalem, albeit in a representative sense. The choice of the feminine singular verb form has probably been influenced to some extent by the allusion to the young widow in the simile of v. 8.; #tn Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.]
lamenting the death of her husband-to-be.
9No one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple of the Lord anymore.
So the priests, those who serve the Lord, are in mourning.
10The crops of the fields have been destroyed.[#tn Heb “the field has been utterly destroyed.” The term “field,” a collective singular for “fields,” is a metonymy for crops produced by the fields.; #tn Joel uses intentionally alliterative language in the phrases שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה (shuddad sadeh, “the field is destroyed”) and אֲבְלָה אֲדָמָה (’avlah ’adamah, “the ground is in mourning”).]
The ground is in mourning because the grain has perished.
The fresh wine has dried up;
the olive oil languishes.
11Be distressed, farmers;[#tn Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”]
wail, vinedressers, over the wheat and the barley.
For the harvest of the field has perished.
12The vine has dried up;
the fig tree languishes –
the pomegranate, date, and apple as well.
In fact, all the trees of the field have dried up.
Indeed, the joy of the people has dried up!
13Get dressed and lament, you priests![#tn Heb “put on.” There is no object present in the Hebrew text, but many translations assume “sackcloth” to be the understood object of the verb “put on.” Its absence in the Hebrew text of v. 13 is probably due to metrical considerations. The meter here is 3 + 3, and that has probably influenced the prophet’s choice of words.]
Wail, you who minister at the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you servants of my God,
because no one brings grain offerings or drink offerings
to the temple of your God anymore.
14Announce a holy fast;[#tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).]
proclaim a sacred assembly.
Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land
to the temple of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord .
15How awful that day will be![#tn Heb “Alas for the day!”]
For the day of the Lord is near;
it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer.
16Our food has been cut off right before our eyes![#tn Heb “Has not the food been cut off right before our eyes?” This rhetorical question expects an affirmative answer; the question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarity and emphasis.]
There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!
17The grains of seed have shriveled beneath their shovels.[#tn Heb “seed.” The phrase “the grains of” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.; #tc This line is textually uncertain. The MT reads “the seed shrivels in their shovels/clods.” One Qumran manuscript (4QXXIIc) reads “the heifers decay in [their] s[talls].” LXX reads “the heifers leap in their stalls.”tn These two lines of v. 17 comprise only four words in the Hebrew; three of the four are found only here in the OT. The translation and meaning are rather uncertain. A number of English versions render the word translated “shovels” as “clods,” referring to lumps of soil (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).]
Storehouses have been decimated
and granaries have been torn down, for the grain has dried up.
18Listen to the cattle groan![#tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”]
The herds of livestock wander around in confusion
because they have no pasture.
Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.
19To you, O Lord , I call out for help,[#tn The phrase “for help” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.]
for fire has burned up the grassy pastures,
flames have razed all the trees in the fields.
20Even the wild animals cry out to you;[#tn Heb “beasts of the field.”; #tn Heb “long for you.” Animals of course do not have religious sensibilities as such; they do not in any literal sense long for Yahweh. Rather, the language here is figurative (metonymy of cause for effect). The animals long for food and water (so BDB 788 s.v. עָרַג), the ultimate source of which is Yahweh.]
for the river beds have dried up;
fire has destroyed the grassy pastures.