Joel 2:4–10
4 iTheir appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like 2swift steeds, so they run.
5 jWith a noise like chariots
Over mountaintops they leap,
Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble,
Like a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before them the people writhe in pain;
kAll faces 3are drained of color.
They climb the wall like men of war;
Every one marches in formation,
And they do not break lranks.
8 They do not push one another;
Every one marches in his own 4column.
Though they lunge between the weapons,
They are not 5cut down.
9 They run to and fro in the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They menter at the windows nlike a thief.
10 oThe earth quakes before them,
The heavens tremble;
pThe sun and moon grow dark,
And the stars diminish their brightness.
Joel 2:4–10 — The New International Version (NIV)
4 They have the appearance of horses;
they gallop along like cavalry.
5 With a noise like that of chariots
they leap over the mountaintops,
like a crackling fire consuming stubble,
like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
6 At the sight of them, nations are in anguish;
every face turns pale.
7 They charge like warriors;
they scale walls like soldiers.
They all march in line,
not swerving from their course.
8 They do not jostle each other;
each marches straight ahead.
They plunge through defenses
without breaking ranks.
9 They rush upon the city;
they run along the wall.
They climb into the houses;
like thieves they enter through the windows.
10 Before them the earth shakes,
the heavens tremble,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
Joel 2:4–10 — English Standard Version (ESV)
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;
And as horsemen, so shall they run.
5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,
Like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble,
As a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained:
All faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war;
And they shall march every one on his ways,
And they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another;
They shall walk every one in his path:
And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city;
They shall run upon the wall,
They shall climb up upon the houses;
They shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them;
The heavens shall tremble:
The sun and the moon shall be dark,
And the stars shall withdraw their shining:
Joel 2:4–10 — New Living Translation (NLT)
4 They look like horses;
they charge forward like warhorses.
5 Look at them as they leap along the mountaintops.
Listen to the noise they make—like the rumbling of chariots,
like the roar of fire sweeping across a field of stubble,
or like a mighty army moving into battle.
6 Fear grips all the people;
every face grows pale with terror.
7 The attackers march like warriors
and scale city walls like soldiers.
Straight forward they march,
never breaking rank.
8 They never jostle each other;
each moves in exactly the right position.
They break through defenses
without missing a step.
9 They swarm over the city
and run along its walls.
They enter all the houses,
climbing like thieves through the windows.
10 The earth quakes as they advance,
and the heavens tremble.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
Joel 2:4–10 — New Century Version (NCV)
4 They look like horses,
and they run like war horses.
5 It is like the noise of chariots
rumbling over the tops of the mountains,
like the noise of a roaring fire
burning dry stalks.
They are like a powerful army lined up for battle.
6 When they see them, nations shake with fear,
and everyone’s face becomes pale.
7 They charge like soldiers;
they climb over the wall like warriors.
They all march straight ahead
and do not move off their path.
8 They do not run into each other,
because each walks in line.
They break through all efforts to stop them
and keep coming.
9 They run into the city.
They run at the wall
and climb into the houses,
entering through windows like thieves.
10 Before them, earth and sky shake.
The sun and the moon become dark,
and the stars stop shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains do they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 At their presence the peoples are in anguish; all faces are waxed pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks. 8 Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course. 9 They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so they run. 5 Like the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains, they leap; like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6 Before them the peoples are in anguish: all faces turn pale. 7 They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and break not their ranks. 8 Neither doth one press upon another; they march every one in his path; and fall amid weapons, but are not wounded. 9 They spread themselves over the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in by the windows like a thief. 10 The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
4 The soldiers look like horses.
They run like war horses.
5 As they leap on mountaintops,
they sound like rattling chariots,
like crackling fire burning up straw,
and like a mighty army prepared for battle.
6 People are terrified in their presence.
Every face turns pale.
7 They run like warriors.
They climb walls like soldiers.
They march straight ahead.
They do not leave their places.
8 They do not crowd one another.
They keep in their own lines.
Even when they break through the defenses,
they do not break their ranks.
9 They rush into the city.
They run along the wall.
They climb into houses.
They enter through windows like thieves.
10 The earth quakes in their presence,
and the sky shakes.
The sun and the moon turn dark,
and the stars no longer shine.
Joel 2:4–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 Their appearance is like that of horses,
and they gallop like war horses.
5 They bound on the tops of the mountains.
Their sound is like the sound of chariots,
like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble,
like a mighty army deployed for war.
6 Nations writhe in horror before them;
all faces turn pale.
7 They attack as warriors attack;
they scale walls as men of war do.
Each goes on his own path,
and they do not change their course.
8 They do not push each other;
each man 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;
they enter through the windows like thieves.
10 The earth quakes before them;
the sky shakes.
The sun and moon grow dark,
and the stars cease their shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 They have the appearance of horses,
and like war-horses they charge.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.
6 Before them peoples are in anguish,
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge,
like soldiers they scale the wall.
Each keeps to its own course,
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another,
each keeps to its own track;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls;
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.
10 The earth quakes before them,
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 Like the appearance of horses is their appearance,
and like horsemen they run;
5 like the sound of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap about;
like the sound of a flame of fire
devouring stubble;
like a strong army arranged
in rows for battle.
6 From before them nations writhe,
all faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty warriors,
they scale the wall like men of war;
each goes on its own way,
and they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each goes on its own trail;
and through the falling weapons,
they are not halted.
9 In the city they rush forth;
on the walls they run.
Into the houses they climb up;
through the windows
they enter like a thief.
10 Before them the earth quakes;
the heavens tremble;
the sun and the moon grow dark,
and the stars have withheld their splendor
Joel 2:4–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
4 They look like horses.
Like war horses they charge ahead.
5 They sound like chariots as they leap over the mountaintops.
They crackle like fire burning up dry weeds.
They are like a mighty army
that is ready for battle.
6 When people see them, they tremble with fear.
All of their faces turn pale.
7 The locusts charge ahead like warriors.
They climb over walls like soldiers.
All of them march in line.
They don’t turn to the right or the left.
8 They don’t bump into one another.
Each of them marches straight ahead.
They charge through everything that tries to stop them.
But they still stay in line.
9 They attack a city.
They run along its wall.
They climb into houses.
They enter through windows like robbers.
10 As they march forward, the earth shakes.
The sky trembles as they approach.
The sun and moon grow dark.
And the stars stop shining.
Joel 2:4–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.
6 Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces turn pale.
7 They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each march in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.
8 They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they burst through the defenses,
They do not break ranks.
9 They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.