Yoel 2:3

2:3 Like fire they devour everything in their path; ¹ 

a flame blazes behind them.

The land looks like the Garden of Eden ²  before them,

but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness –

for nothing escapes them! ³ 

Yoel 3:17

The Lord’s Presence in Zion

3:17 You will be convinced ⁴  that I the Lord am your God,

dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem ⁵  will be holy –

conquering armies ⁶  will no longer pass through it.

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “a fire devours before it.”

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “like the garden of Eden, the land is before them.”

[2:3]  ³ tn Heb “and surely a survivor there is not for it.” The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is apparently עַם (’am, “people”) of v. 2, which seems to be a figurative way of referring to the locusts. K&D 26:191-92 thought that the antecedent of this pronoun was “land,” but the masculine gender of the pronoun does not support this.

[3:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “know.”

[3:17]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:17]  ⁶ tn Heb “strangers” or “foreigners.” In context, this refers to invasions by conquering armies.