The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. THE WORD OF THE LORD THAT CAME TO JOEL. He records nothing of himself except his divine commission. He desired to live as before God, and to be known among men only as the voice which gave utterance to the word of the Lord that came to h... [ Continue Reading ]
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 OLD MEN, AND GIVE EAR, ALL YE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND ... TELL YE YOUR CHILDREN OF IT. A spirited introduction, calling attention. OLD MEN - the... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THAT WHICH THE PALMER-WORM HATH LEFT HATH THE LOCUST EATEN; AND THAT WHICH THE LOCUST HATH LEFT HATH THE C... [ Continue Reading ]
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 - out of your ordinary state of drunken stupor, to realize the cutting off from you of your favourite drink. AND HOWL - even the drunkards (from a H... [ Continue Reading ]
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 - applied to the locusts, rather than "people" (Proverbs 30:25-20), to mark not only their numbers, but also their savage hostility; an... [ Continue Reading ]
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. HE HATH ... BARKED MY FIG TREE. Bochart, with the Septuagint and Syriac, translates from an Arabic root, 'hath broken'-namely, the topmost shoots, which locusts... [ Continue Reading ]
Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth for the husband of her youth. LAMENT - O "my land" (Joel 1:6; Isaiah 24:4). LIKE A VIRGIN GIRDED WITH SACKCLOTH FOR THE HUSBAND. A virgin betrothed was regarded as married (Deuteronomy 22:23; Matthew 1:19). The Hebrew [ ba`al (H1167)] for "husband" is... [ Continue Reading ]
The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn. THE MEAT OFFERING AND THE DRINK OFFERING IS CUT OFF FROM THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. The greatest sorrow to the mind of a religious Jew, and what ought to impress the whole nation... [ Continue Reading ]
The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. THE FIELD IS WASTED, THE LAND MOURNETH - differing in that "field" [ saadeh (H7704)] means the open unenclosed country; "land," the rich RED soil [ 'ªdaamaah (H127), from a root, 'aadam... [ Continue Reading ]
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 YE ASHAMED - i:e., Ye shall have the shame of disappointment on account of the failure of "the wheat" and "barley" "harvest." HOWL, O YE VINE-DRESSERS - t... [ Continue Reading ]
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 POMEGRANATE TREE - a tree straight in the stem, growing 20 feet high: the fruit... [ Continue Reading ]
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 YOURSELVES - namely, with sackcloth; as in , the ellipsis is supplied (c... [ Continue Reading ]
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 YE A FAST - appoint a solemn fast. CALL A SOLEMN ASSEMBLY, [ `ªtsaaraah (H6116)] - literally, a day of restraint or cessation from... [ Continue Reading ]
Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. THE DAY OF THE LORD IS AT HAND - (Joel 2:1; Joel 2:11) i:e., the day of His anger (Isaiah 13:9; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7; Zephaniah 1:15). Isaiah (see the Hebrew) has copied word for wor... [ Continue Reading ]
Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, joy and gladness from the house of our God? IS NOT THE MEAT CUT OFF BEFORE OUR EYES, YEA, JOY AND GLADNESS FROM THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD? - (cf. , "The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of our God," and the latter part of , ... [ Continue Reading ]
The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. THE SEED IS ROTTEN - "is dried up," 'vanishes away,' from an Arabic root (Maurer). "Seed" - literally, grains. The drought causes the seeds to lose all their vitality and moi... [ Continue Reading ]
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. THE HERDS OF CATTLE ARE PERPLEXED - implying the restless gestures of the dumb beasts in their inability to find food. There is a tacit contrast between the sense... [ Continue Reading ]
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. O LORD, TO THEE WILL I CRY. Joel here interposes. Since this people is insensible to shame or fear, and will not hear, I will leave them and address myself... [ Continue Reading ]
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. THE BEASTS OF THE FIELD CRY ALSO UNTO THEE - i:e., look up to heaven with heads lifted up, as if their only expectation was from God in the general famine... [ Continue Reading ]