http://www.humanreligions.info/joel.html
By Vexen Crabtree 2012
#bible #christianity #judaism #minor_prophets #old_testament
Jewish Tanakh
Title: Yō´el
Section: 8th book of Nevi'im - Trei Asar (The Twelve)
Protestant Bibles
Title: Joel
Section: Minor Prophets
Catholic Bible
Title: Joel
Section: Minor Prophets
Eastern Orthodox Bibles
Title: Joel
Section: Minor Prophets
A dramatic book about locusts sent as an army from God (Joel 2:25) and the resulting famine, and a promise that God rewards successful and upstanding people with national success. However in the modern world countries with the most stable food supplies are also the least Christian, making Joel's warning that believers must trust God in order to prevent famines somewhat contradictory to reality. It is difficult to tell if Joel is talking of real or metaphorical events, and because of this and the book's shortness, it is very difficult to date its authorship although some academics say it was written in the 4th century BCE1. It doesn't refer to identifiable historical events, people nor places, and, there were many locust swarms throughout the region. There is some uncertainty about the original text, and some versions of the Bible have Joel as 3 chapters long, others 42. The predictability and ubiquitousness of the book's central message (wail and cry when fate is unkind - trust God, and things will get better) means this is a rather pointless book, and it is rarely discussed by scholars nor believers.
#12 #bible #christianity #judaism #minor_prophets #old_testament
The 8th part of the Hebrew holy text the Nevi'im is called the Trei Asar (The Twelve), and from it the Christians extracted the 12 books of the Old Testament that are together known as the Minor Prophets, including Joel. They are not chronological and they are collected together as 'minor' prophets simply because they are shorter than the 'major' prophets3. The Hebrews wrote a great number of religious texts; the reason that 12 in particular were selected is because religious scribes would create collections of 12 wherever possible, as it was considered a magical number4.
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Because of its shortness and vagueness, Joel is very difficult to date1. It doesn't refer to identifiable historical events, people nor places. It talks of a famine and a drought, but that does not help narrow down which period of famine or drought in Judea, especially given that it is difficult to tell if the book is talking of real or metaphorical events. Other events in Bible have been recorded with such exaggeration that Joel could be referring to anything from a small-scale crop failure, to a large-scale national emergency brought on by locusts. Some say it was written in the 4th century BCE1.
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. | A word of Jehovah that hath been unto Joel, son of Pethuel: | |
| 2 | Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? | Hear this, ye aged ones, And give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land, Hath this been in your days? Or in the days of your fathers? | |
| 3 | Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. | Concerning it to your sons talk ye, And your sons to their sons, And their sons to another generation. | |
| 4 | That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. | What is left of the palmer-worm, eaten hath the locust, And what is left of the locust, Eaten hath the cankerworm, And what is left of the cankerworm, Eaten hath the caterpillar. | |
| 5 | Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. | Awake, ye drunkards, and weep, And howl all drinking wine, because of the juice, For it hath been cut off from your mouth. | |
| 6 | For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. | For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth `are' the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness. | |
| 7 | He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. | It hath made my vine become a desolation, And my fig-tree become a chip, It hath made it thoroughly bare, and hath cast down, Made white have been its branches. | |
| 8 | Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. | Wail, as a virgin girdeth with sackcloth, For the husband of her youth. | |
| 9 | The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn. | Cut off hath been present and libation from the house of Jehovah, Mourned have the priests, ministrants of Jehovah. | |
| 10 | The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. | Spoiled is the field, mourned hath the ground, For spoiled is the corn, Dried up hath been new wine, languish doth oil. | |
| 11 | Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. | Be ashamed, ye husbandmen, Howl, vine-dressers, for wheat and for barley, For perished hath the harvest of the field. | |
| 12 | The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. | The vine hath been dried up, And the fig-tree doth languish, Pomegranate, also palm, and apple-tree, All trees of the field have withered, For dried up hath been joy from the sons of men. | |
| 13 | Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. | Gird, and lament, ye priests, Howl, ye ministrants of the altar, Come in, lodge in sackcloth, ministrants of my God, For withheld from the house of your God hath been present and libation. | |
| 14 | Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, | Sanctify a fast, proclaim a restraint, Gather the elders -- all the inhabitants of the land, `Into' the house of Jehovah your God, | |
| 15 | Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. | And cry unto Jehovah, `Alas for the day! For near `is' a day of Jehovah, And as destruction from the mighty it cometh. | |
| 16 | Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? | Is not before our eyes food cut off? From the house of our God joy and rejoicing? | |
| 17 | The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. | Rotted have scattered things under their clods, Desolated have been storehouses, Broken down have been granaries, For withered hath the corn. | |
| 18 | How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. | How have cattle sighed! Perplexed have been droves of oxen, For there is no pasture for them, Also droves of sheep have been desolated. | |
| 19 | O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. | Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I do call, For fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness, And a flame hath set on fire all trees of the field. | |
| 20 | The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. | Also the cattle of the field long for Thee, For dried up have been streams of water, And fire hath consumed comely places of a wilderness!' |
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; | Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, And shout ye in My holy hill, Tremble do all inhabitants of the earth, For coming is the day of Jehovah, for `it is' near! | Joel 2:25 is referenced on this page in a different section |
| 2 | A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. | A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of cloud and thick darkness, As darkness spread on the mountains, A people numerous and mighty, Like it there hath not been from of old, And after it there is not again -- till the years of generation and generation. | |
| 3 | A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. | Before it consumed hath fire, And after it burn doth a flame, As the garden of Eden `is' the land before it, And after it a wilderness -- a desolation! And also an escape there hath not been to it, | |
| 4 | The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. | As the appearance of horses `is' its appearance, And as horsemen, so they run. | |
| 5 | Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. | As the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains they skip, As the noise of a flame of fire devouring stubble, As a mighty people set in array for battle. | |
| 6 | Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. | From its face pained are peoples, All faces have gathered paleness. | |
| 7 | They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: | As mighty ones they run, As men of war they go up a wall, And each in his own ways they do go, And they embarrass not their paths. | |
| 8 | Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. | And each his brother they press not, Each in his way they go on, If by the missile they fall, they are not cut off. | |
| 9 | They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. | In the city they run to and fro, On the wall they run, Into houses they go up by the windows, They go in as a thief. | |
| 10 | The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: | At their face trembled hath the earth, Shaken have the heavens, Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining. | |
| 11 | And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? | And Jehovah hath given forth His voice before His force, For very great `is' His camp, For mighty `is' the doer of His word, For great `is' the day of Jehovah -- very fearful, And who doth bear it? | |
| 12 | Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: | And also now -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Turn ye back unto Me with all your heart, And with fasting, and with weeping, And with lamentation. | |
| 13 | And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. | And rend your heart, and not your garments, And turn back unto Jehovah your God, For gracious and merciful `is' He, Slow to anger, and abundant in kindness, And He hath repented concerning the evil. | |
| 14 | Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? | Who knoweth -- He doth turn back, Yea -- He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God? | |
| 15 | Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: | Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast -- proclaim a restraint. | |
| 16 | Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. | Gather the people, sanctify an assembly, Assemble the aged, Gather infants and sucklings of the breasts, Go out let a bridegroom from his inner chamber, And a bride out of her closet. | |
| 17 | Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? | Between the porch and the altar weep let the priests, ministrants of Jehovah, And let them say: `Have pity, O Jehovah, on Thy people, And give not Thy inheritance to reproach, To the ruling over them of nations, Why do they say among peoples, Where `is' their God?' | |
| 18 | Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. | And let Jehovah be zealous for His land, And have pity on His people. | |
| 19 | Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: | Let Jehovah answer and say to His people, `Lo, I am sending to you the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And ye have been satisfied with it, And I make you no more a reproach among nations, | |
| 20 | But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. | And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work. | |
| 21 | Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. | Do not fear, O land! joy and rejoice, For Jehovah hath exerted Himself to work. | |
| 22 | Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. | Do not fear, O cattle of the field! For sprung forth have pastures of a wilderness, For the tree hath borne its fruit, Fig-tree and vine have given their strength! | |
| 23 | Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. | And ye sons of Zion, joy and rejoice, In Jehovah your God, For He hath given to you the Teacher for righteousness, And causeth to come down to you a shower, Sprinkling and gathered -- in the beginning. | |
| 24 | And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. | And full have been the floors `with' pure corn, And overflown have the presses `with' new wine and oil. | |
| 25 | And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. | And I have recompensed to you the years That consume did the locust, the cankerworm, And the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great force that I did send against you. | |
| 26 | And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. | And ye have eaten, eating and being satisfied, And have praised the name of Jehovah your God, Who hath dealt with you wonderfully, And not ashamed are My people to the age. | |
| 27 | And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. | And ye have known that in the midst of Israel `am' I, And I `am' Jehovah your God, and there is none else, And not ashamed are My people to the age. | |
| 28 | And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: | And it hath come to pass afterwards, I do pour out My Spirit on all flesh, And prophesied have your sons and your daughters, Your old men do dream dreams, Your young men do see visions. | |
| 29 | And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. | And also on the men-servants, and on the maid-servants, In those days I do pour out My Spirit. | |
| 30 | And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. | And I have given wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, Blood and fire, and columns of smoke. | |
| 31 | The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. | The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful. | |
| 32 | And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. | And it hath come to pass, Every one who calleth in the name of Jehovah is delivered, For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there is an escape, As Jehovah hath said, And among the remnants whom Jehovah is calling! |
| KJV | YLT | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, | For lo, in those days, and in that time, When I turn back `to' the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, | |
| 2 | I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. | Then I have gathered all the nations, And caused them to go down unto the valley of Jehoshaphat, And I have been judged with them there, Concerning My people and Mine inheritance -- Israel, Whom they scattered among nations, And My land they have apportioned. | |
| 3 | And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. | And for My people they do cast a lot, And they give the young man for an harlot, And the young woman have sold for wine, That they may drink. | |
| 4 | Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; | And also, what `are' ye to Me, O Tyre and Zidon, And all circuits of Philistia? Recompence are ye rendering unto Me? And if ye are giving recompence to Me, Swiftly, hastily, I turn back your recompence on your head. | |
| 5 | Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: | In that My silver and My gold ye took, And My desirable things that are good, Ye have brought in to your temples. | |
| 6 | The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. | And sons of Judah, and sons of Jerusalem, Ye have sold to the sons of Javan, To put them far off from their border. | |
| 7 | Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: | Lo, I am stirring them up out of the place Whither ye have sold them, And I have turned back your recompence on your head, | |
| 8 | And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. | And have sold your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the sons of Judah, And they have sold them to Shabeans, Unto a nation far off, for Jehovah hath spoken. | |
| 9 | Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: | Proclaim ye this among nations, Sanctify a war, stir up the mighty ones, Come nigh, come up, let all the men of war. | |
| 10 | Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. | Beat your ploughshares to swords, And your pruning-hooks to javelins, Let the weak say, `I `am' mighty.' | |
| 11 | Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. | Haste, and come in, all ye nations round, And be gathered together, Thither cause to come down, O Jehovah, Thy mighty ones. | |
| 12 | Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. | Wake and come up let the nations unto the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I sit to judge all the nations around. | |
| 13 | Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. | Send ye forth a sickle, For ripened hath harvest, Come in, come down, for filled hath been the press, Overflowed hath wine-presses, For great `is' their wickedness. | |
| 14 | Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. | Multitudes, multitudes `are' in the valley of decision, For near `is' the day of Jehovah in the valley of decision. | |
| 15 | The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. | Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining. | |
| 16 | The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. | And Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And shaken have the heavens and earth, And Jehovah `is' a refuge to his people, And a stronghold to sons of Israel. | |
| 17 | So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. | And ye have known that I `am' Jehovah your God, Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain, And Jerusalem hath been holy, And strangers do not pass over into it again. | |
| 18 | And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. | And it hath come to pass, in that day, Drop down do the mountains juice, And the hills do flow `with' milk, And all streams of Judah do go `with' water, And a fountain from the house of Jehovah goeth forth, And hath watered the valley of Shittim. | |
| 19 | Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. | Egypt a desolation becometh, And Edom a desolation, a wilderness, becometh, For violence `to' sons of Judah, Whose innocent blood they shed in their land. | |
| 20 | But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. | And Judah to the age doth dwell, And Jerusalem to generation and generation. | |
| 21 | For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion. | And I have declared their blood innocent, `That' I did not declare innocent, And Jehovah is dwelling in Zion! |