Yoel 2:1

The Locusts’ Devastation

2:1 Blow the trumpet ¹  in Zion;

sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,

for the day of the Lord is about to come.

Indeed, ²  it is near! ³ 

Yoel 2:15

2:15 Blow the trumpet ⁴  in Zion.

Announce a holy fast;

proclaim a sacred assembly!

Yoel 2:32

2:32 It will so happen that

everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered. ⁵ 

For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem ⁶  there will be those who survive, ⁷ 

just as the Lord has promised;

the remnant ⁸  will be those whom the Lord will call. ⁹ 

Yoel 3:16-18

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹⁰  his voice bellows out. ¹¹ 

The heavens ¹²  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ¹³  of Israel.

The Lord’s Presence in Zion

3:17 You will be convinced ¹⁴  that I the Lord am your God,

dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem ¹⁵  will be holy –

conquering armies ¹⁶  will no longer pass through it.

3:18 On that day ¹⁷  the mountains will drip with sweet wine, ¹⁸ 

and the hills will flow with milk. ¹⁹ 

All the dry stream beds ²⁰  of Judah will flow with water.

A spring will flow out from the temple ²¹  of the Lord,

watering the Valley of Acacia Trees. ²² 

Yoel 3:20

3:20 But Judah will reside securely forever,

and Jerusalem will be secure ²³  from one generation to the next.

[2:1]  ¹ tn The word translated “trumpet” here (so most English versions) is the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofar). The shophar was a wind instrument made from a cow or ram’s horn and used as a military instrument for calling people to attention in the face of danger or as a religious instrument for calling people to occasions of communal celebration.

[2:1]  ² tn Or “for.”

[2:1]  ³ sn The interpretation of 2:1-11 is very difficult. Four views may be mentioned here. (1) Some commentators understand this section to be describing a human invasion of Judah on the part of an ancient army. The exact identity of this army (e.g., Assyrian or Babylonian) varies among interpreters depending upon issues of dating for the book of Joel. (2) Some commentators take the section to describe an eschatological scene in which the army according to some is human, or according to others is nonhuman (i.e., angelic). (3) Some interpreters argue for taking the section to refer to the potential advent in the fall season of a severe east wind (i.e., Sirocco) that would further exacerbate the conditions of the land described in chapter one. (4) Finally, some interpreters understand the section to continue the discussion of locust invasion and drought described in chapter one, partly on the basis that there is no clear exegetical evidence in 2:1-11 to suggest a shift of referent from that of chapter one.

[2:15]  ⁴ tn See the note on this term in 2:1.

[2:32]  ⁵ tn While a number of English versions render this as “saved” (e.g., NIV, NRSV, NLT), this can suggest a “spiritual” or “theological” salvation rather than the physical deliverance from the cataclysmic events of the day of the Lord described in the context.

[2:32]  ⁶ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[2:32]  ⁷ tn Heb “deliverance”; or “escape.” The abstract noun “deliverance” or “escape” probably functions here as an example of antimeria, referring to those who experience deliverance or escape with their lives: “escaped remnant” or “surviving remnant” (Gen 32:8; 45:7; Judg 21:17; 2 Kgs 19:30, 31; Isa 4:2; 10:20; 15:9; 37:31, 32; Ezek 14:22; Obad 1:17; Ezra 9:8, 13-15; Neh 1:2; 1 Chr 4:43; 2 Chr 30:6).

[2:32]  ⁸ tn Heb “and among the remnant.”

[2:32]  ⁹ tn The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to indicate action in the imminent future.

[3:16]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

[3:16]  ¹² tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ¹³ tn Heb “sons.”

[3:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “know.”

[3:17]  ¹⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “strangers” or “foreigners.” In context, this refers to invasions by conquering armies.

[3:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and it will come about in that day.”

[3:18]  ¹⁸ tn Many English translations read “new wine” or “sweet wine,” meaning unfermented wine, i.e., grape juice.

[3:18]  ¹⁹ sn The language used here is a hyperbolic way of describing both a bountiful grape harvest (“the mountains will drip with juice”) and an abundance of cattle (“the hills will flow with milk”). In addition to being hyperbolic, the language is also metonymical (effect for cause).

[3:18]  ²⁰ tn Or “seasonal streams.”

[3:18]  ²¹ tn Heb “house.”

[3:18]  ²² tn Heb “valley of Shittim.” The exact location of the Valley of Acacia Trees is uncertain. The Hebrew word שִׁטִּים (shittim) refers to a place where the acacia trees grow, which would be a very arid and dry place. The acacia tree can survive in such locations, whereas most other trees require more advantageous conditions. Joel’s point is that the stream that has been mentioned will proceed to the most dry and barren of locations in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

[3:20]  ²³ tn The phrase “will be secure” does not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness.