2 Samuel 2:7

2:7 Now be courageous ¹  and prove to be valiant warriors, for your lord Saul is dead. The people of Judah have anointed me as king over them.”

2 Samuel 2:1

David is Anointed King

2:1 Afterward David inquired of the Lord, “Should I go up to one of the cities of Judah?” The Lord told him, “Go up.” David asked, “Where should I go?” The Lord replied, ²  “To Hebron.”

1 Raja-raja 2:2

2:2 “I am about to die. ³  Be strong and become a man!

Yesaya 41:6

41:6 They help one another; ⁴ 

one says to the other, ‘Be strong!’

Yoel 3:9-10

Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat

3:9 Proclaim this among the nations:

“Prepare for a holy war!

Call out the warriors!

Let all these fighting men approach and attack! ⁵ 

3:10 Beat your plowshares ⁶  into swords,

and your pruning hooks ⁷  into spears! ⁸ 

Let the weak say, ‘I too am a warrior!’ ⁹ 

[2:7]  ¹ tn Heb “let your hands be strong.”

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “he said.” The referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity and for stylistic reasons.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “going the way of all the earth.”

[41:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “each his neighbor helps”; NCV “The workers help each other.”

[3:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “draw near and go up.”

[3:10]  ⁶ sn Instead of referring to the large plow as a whole, the plowshare is simply the metal tip which actually breaks the earth and cuts the furrow.

[3:10]  ⁷ sn This implement was used to prune the vines, i.e., to cut off extra leaves and young shoots (M. Klingbeil, NIDOTTE 1:1117-18). It was a short knife with a curved hook at the end sharpened on the inside like a sickle.

[3:10]  ⁸ sn This conversion of farming instruments to instruments of war is the reverse of Isa 2:4 (cf. Mic 4:3), where military weapons are transformed into tools for farming. Isaiah describes a time of kingdom blessing and prosperity, whereas Joel describes a time of eschatological conflict and judgment.

[3:10]  ⁹ sn The “weak” individual mentioned here is apparently the farmer who has little or no military prowess or prior fighting experience. Under ordinary circumstances such a person would be ill-prepared for assuming the role of a soldier. However, in the scene that Joel is describing here even the most unlikely candidate will become a participant to be reckoned with in this final conflict.