Joel 2 · WEB
Rend Your Hearts and the Outpouring of the Spirit
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh comes, for it is close at hand:
2A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
3A fire devours before them, and behind them, a flame burns. The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them, a desolate wilderness. Yes, and no one has escaped them.
4Their appearance is as the appearance of horses, and they run as horsemen.
5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of the mountains, they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devours the stubble, like a strong people set in battle array.
6At their presence the peoples are in anguish. All faces have grown pale.
7They run like mighty men. They climb the wall like warriors. They each march in his line, and they don't swerve off course.
8One doesn't jostle another. They each march in their own path. They burst through the defenses, and don't break ranks.
9They rush on the city. They run on the wall. They climb up into the houses. They enter in at the windows like thieves.
10The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
11Yahweh thunders his voice before his army; for his forces are very great; for he is strong who obeys his command; for the day of Yahweh is great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
12"Yet even now," says Yahweh, "turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning."
13Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and relents from sending calamity.
14Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.
15Blow the trumpet in Zion! Sanctify a fast. Call a solemn assembly.
16Gather the people. Sanctify the assembly. Assemble the elders. Gather the children, and those who nurse from breasts. Let the bridegroom go out of his room, and the bride out of her chamber.
17Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, "Spare your people, Yahweh, and don't give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
18Then Yahweh was jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
19Yahweh answered his people, "Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
20But I will remove the northern army far away from you, and will drive it into a barren and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its back into the western sea; and its stench will come up, and its bad smell will rise." Surely he has done great things.
21Land, don't be afraid. Be glad and rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things.
22Don't be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength.
23"Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in Yahweh, your God; for he gives you the early rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the early rain and the latter rain, as before.
24The threshing floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil.
25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
26You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of Yahweh, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed.
27You will know that I am among Israel, and that I am Yahweh, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
28"It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions.
29And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit.
30I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
32It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh's name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls.
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Summary
Joel sounds the alarm: a terrifying army — locusts pictured as soldiers — advances as the day of Yahweh, and even the heavens shake. Yet God invites His people to return with all their heart, tearing their hearts and not just their clothes, because He is gracious and merciful. When they repent, Yahweh promises to drive the army away, restore the years the locust has eaten, and ultimately pour out His Spirit on all flesh, so that everyone who calls on His name will be saved.
Themes
- The terror and certainty of the day of Yahweh
- Inward repentance over outward show
- God's character: gracious, merciful, slow to anger
- Restoration of what was lost
- The outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh
Key verses
- Joel 2:12-13 — “Turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness.”
- Joel 2:25 — “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.”
- Joel 2:28 — “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy.”
- Joel 2:32 — “Whoever will call on Yahweh's name shall be saved.”
Context & background
Chapter 2 keeps the action in Jerusalem and the surrounding farmland of Judah (modern southern Israel and the West Bank), with the temple courts — the porch and the altar (v. 17) — as the place of repentance. The "northern army" (v. 20) is driven between the eastern sea (the Dead Sea, on the modern Israel-Jordan border) and the western sea (the Mediterranean). The promise of "early rain and latter rain" (v. 23) reflects Israel's two rainy seasons (autumn and spring) on which all agriculture depended. Peter quotes verses 28-32 at Pentecost in Acts 2 as fulfilled in the gift of the Spirit through Jesus the Messiah.
Cross-references
- Acts 2:16-21 — Peter cites Joel 2:28-32 as fulfilled at Pentecost.
- Deuteronomy 11:14 — The early and latter rain as God's covenant blessing on the land.
- Exodus 34:6 — The character formula Joel quotes: gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness.
- Romans 10:13 — Paul quotes Joel 2:32: "Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved."
- Zephaniah 1:14-15 — Parallel description of the day of Yahweh as darkness and gloom.