1:14 Announce a holy fast; 1
proclaim a sacred assembly.
Gather the elders and 2 all the inhabitants of the land
to the temple of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
2:13 Return to the Lord your God,
for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and boundless in loyal love 3 – often relenting from calamitous punishment. 4
2:14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, 5
and leave blessing in his wake 6 –
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! 7
2:16 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. 8
1 tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).
2 tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXIIc and 4QXIIg).
3 tn Heb “and great of loyal love.”
4 tn Heb “and he relents from calamity.”
5 tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”
6 tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”
7 tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
7 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.