Yoel 1:2

A Locust Plague Foreshadows the Day of the Lord

1:2 Listen to this, you elders; ¹ 

pay attention, ²  all inhabitants of the land.

Has anything like this ever happened in your whole life ³ 

or in the lifetime ⁴  of your ancestors? ⁵ 

Yoel 1:12

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ⁶  as well.

In fact, ⁷  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ⁸  has dried up!

Yoel 1:14

1:14 Announce a holy fast; ⁹ 

proclaim a sacred assembly.

Gather the elders and ¹⁰  all the inhabitants of the land

to the temple of the Lord your God,

and cry out to the Lord.

Yoel 2:1

The Locusts’ Devastation

2:1 Blow the trumpet ¹¹  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, ¹²  it is near! ¹³ 

[1:2]  ¹ sn Elders here refers not necessarily to men advanced in years, but to leaders within the community.

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “give ear.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “fathers.”

[1:12]  ⁶ tn This Hebrew word וְתַפּוּחַ (vÿtappuakh) probably refers to the apple tree (so most English versions), but other suggestions that scholars have offered include the apricot, citron, or quince.

[1:12]  ⁷ tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[1:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).

[1:14]  ¹⁰ tc The conjunction “and” does not appear in MT or LXX, but does appear in some Qumran texts (4QXII^c and 4QXII^g).

[2:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Or “for.”

[2:1]  ¹³ 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.