Logos Bible Study

Joel 2:17–21

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2:17Let the priests, those who serve the Lord, weep

from the vestibule all the way back to the altar.52

Let them say, “Have pity, O Lord, on your people;

please do not turn over your inheritance to be mocked,

to become a proverb53 among the nations.

Why should it be said54 among the peoples,

“Where is their God?”

The Lord’s Response

2:18Then the Lord became55 zealous for his land;

he had compassion on his people.

2:19The Lord responded56 to his people,

“Look! I am about to restore your grain57

as well as fresh wine and olive oil.

You will be fully satisfied.58

I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.

2:20I will remove the one from the north59 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,60

and those in back westward into the Mediterranean Sea.61

His stench will rise up as a foul smell.”62

Indeed, the Lord63 has accomplished great things.

2:21Do not fear, my land!

Rejoice and be glad,

because the Lord has accomplished great things!

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Footnotes

  1. 52 Heb “between the vestibule and the altar.” The vestibule was located at the entrance of the temple and the altar was located at the other end of the building. So “between the vestibule and the altar” is a merism referring to the entire structure. The priestly lament permeates the entire house of worship.
  2. 53 For the reading לִמְשָׁל (limshol, an infinitive, “to rule”), one should instead read לְמָשָׁל (lémashal, a noun, “to a byword”). While the consonantal Hebrew text permits either, the context suggests that the concern here is more one of not wanting to appear abandoned by God to ongoing economic depression rather than one of concern over potential political subjection of Israel (cf. v. 19). The possibility that the form in the is an infinitive construct of the denominative verb II מָשַׁל (mashal, “to utter a proverb”) does not seem likely because of the following preposition (Hebrew בְּ [bé], rather than עַל [’al]).
  3. 54 Heb “Why will they say?”
  4. 55 The time-frame entertained by the verbs of v. 18 constitutes a crux interpretum in this chapter. The Hebrew verb forms used here are preterites with vav consecutive and are most naturally understood as describing a past situation. However, some modern English versions render these verbs as futures (e.g., , ), apparently concluding that the context requires a future reference. According to 2: §112.h, n. 1 explained the verbs of Joel 2:18 as an extension of the so-called prophetic perfect; as such, a future fulfillment was described with a past tense as a rhetorical device lending certainty to the fulfillment. But this lacks adequate precedent and is very unlikely from a syntactical standpoint. It seems better to take the verbs in the normal past sense of the preterite. This would require a vantage point for the prophet at some time after the people had responded favorably to the Lord’s call for repentance and after the Lord had shown compassion and forgiveness toward his people, but before the full realization of God’s promises to restore productivity to the land. In other words, it appears from the verbs of vv. 18–19 that at the time of Joel’s writing this book the events of successive waves of locust invasion and conditions of drought had almost run their course and the people had now begun to turn to the Lord.
  5. 56 Heb “answered and said.”
  6. 57 Heb “Look! I am sending grain to you.” The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to suggest imminent action.
  7. 58 One of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) inserts “and you will eat” before “and you will be fully satisfied” (the reading of the , ).
  8. 59 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.
  9. 60 Heb “his face to the eastern sea.” In this context the eastern sea is probably the Dead Sea.
  10. 61 Heb “and his rear to the western sea.” The western sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea.
  11. 62 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.
  12. 63 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.

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Between the vestibule and the altar

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Then the Lord became jealous for his land

and had pity on his people.

The Lord answered and said to his people,

“Behold, I am sending to you

grain, wine, and oil,

and you will be satisfied;

and I will no more make you

a reproach among the nations.

“I will remove the northerner far from you,

and drive him into a parched and desolate land,

his vanguard into the eastern sea,

and his rear guard into the western sea;

the stench and foul smell of him will rise,

for he has done great things.

“Fear not, O land;

be glad and rejoice,

for the Lord has done great things!

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Let the priests, who minister before the Lord,

weep between the portico and the altar.

Let them say, “Spare your people, Lord.

Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Then the Lord was jealous for his land

and took pity on his people.

The Lord replied to them:

“I am sending you grain, new wine and olive oil,

enough to satisfy you fully;

never again will I make you

an object of scorn to the nations.

“I will drive the northern horde far from you,

pushing it into a parched and barren land;

its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea

and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea.

And its stench will go up;

its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things!

Do not be afraid, land of Judah;

be glad and rejoice.

Surely the Lord has done great things!

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,

weep between the portico and the altar.

Let them say,

“Have pity on your people, Lord,

and do not make your inheritance a disgrace,

an object of scorn among the nations.

Why should it be said among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Then the Lord became jealous for his land and spared his people. The Lord answered his people:

Look, I am about to send you

grain, new wine, and fresh oil.

You will be satiated with them,

and I will no longer make you

a disgrace among the nations.

I will drive the northerner far from you

and banish him to a dry and desolate land,

his front ranks into the Dead Sea,

and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.

His stench will rise;

yes, his rotten smell will rise,

for he has done astonishing things.

Don’t be afraid, land;

rejoice and be glad,

for the Lord has done astonishing things.

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

Let the priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence,

stand and weep between the entry room to the Temple and the altar.

Let them pray, “Spare your people, Lord!

Don’t let your special possession become an object of mockery.

Don’t let them become a joke for unbelieving foreigners who say,

‘Has the God of Israel left them?’ ”

Then the Lord will pity his people

and jealously guard the honor of his land.

The Lord will reply,

“Look! I am sending you grain and new wine and olive oil,

enough to satisfy your needs.

You will no longer be an object of mockery

among the surrounding nations.

I will drive away these armies from the north.

I will send them into the parched wastelands.

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

and those at the rear into the Mediterranean.

The stench of their rotting bodies will rise over the land.”

Surely the Lord has done great things!

Don’t be afraid, O land.

Be glad now and rejoice,

for the Lord has done great things.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Between the colonnade and the altar,

let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep.

And let them say, “Take pity, Yahweh, on your people.

Do not make your inheritance a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the nations,

‘Where is their God?’ ”

Then Yahweh became jealous for his land

and took pity on his people.

And Yahweh answered and said to his people,

“Look at me, I am sending to you

grain, new wine, and olive oil,

and you will be satisfied by it.

I will not give you over any more

as a disgrace among the nations.

The northerners

I will remove from you;

I will drive them to a desert

and desolate land,

its front to the eastern sea,

and its rear into the western sea;

its stench and odor will rise up

because he has done great things.

Do not fear, O land,

rejoice and be glad,

because Yahweh has done great things.

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar,

And let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord,

And give not thine heritage to reproach,

That the heathen should rule over them:

Wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

Then will the Lord be jealous for his land,

And pity his people.

Yea, the Lord will answer and say unto his people,

Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil,

And ye shall be satisfied therewith:

And I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

But I will remove far off from you the northern army,

And will drive him into a land barren and desolate,

With his face toward the east sea,

And his hinder part toward the utmost sea,

And his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up,

Because he hath done great things.

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice:

For the Lord will do great things.

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