Yoel 2:13
Konteks2:13 Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love 1 – often relenting from calamitous punishment. 2
Yoel 2:16
Konteks2:16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters. 3
[2:13] 1 tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”
[2:13] 2 tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”
[2:16] 3 sn Mosaic law allowed men recently married, or about to be married, to be exempt for a year from certain duties that were normally mandatory, such as military obligation (cf. Deut 20:7; 24:5). However, Joel pictures a time of such urgency that normal expectations must give way to higher requirements.