People ¹  writhe in fear when they see them. ²  All of their faces turn pale with fright. ³ 

biblegateway Joe 2:6

Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.

Nations writhe in horror before them; all faces turn pale.

People are terrified in their presence. Every face turns pale.

biblegateway Joe 2:6

At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.

Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.

bibleoremus Joe 2:6

Before them peoples are in anguish, all faces grow pale.

Nations tremble at their onset, every face is drained of colour.

biblegateway Joe 2:6

Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color.

Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

biblegateway Joe 2:6

People ¹  writhe in fear when they see them. ²  All of their faces turn pale with fright. ³ 

¹ tn Or “nations.”

² tn Heb “before it.”

³ tn Heb “all faces gather beauty”; or “all faces gather a glow.” The Hebrew word פָּארוּר (pa’rur) is found in the OT only here and in Nah 2:11. Its meaning is very uncertain. Some scholars associate it with a root that signifies “glowing”; hence “all faces gather a glow of dread.” Others associate the word with פָּרוּר (parur, “pot”); hence “all faces gather blackness.” Still others take the root to signify “beauty”; hence “all faces gather in their beauty” in the sense of growing pale due to fear. This is the view assumed here.