Joel 2:6

The alarm to be caused by their approach, like that occasioned by the advance of some vast horde of invaders.

At their presence peoples are in anguish] not people, but peoples, i.e. whole nations. For the verb, comp. Deuteronomy 2:25, R.V.; Ezekiel 30:16, R.V.: it is a strong word, applied often, and specifically, to the anguish of a woman in travail (see e.g. Isaiah 13:8, where be in painshould rather be, as here, be in anguish). The -panic terror" (Redtenbacher, p. 4) produced by an invasion of locusts on a large scale, can be readily imagined, if we remember not only the immense loss of property, of which they are the cause, but also the terrible destitution, which often follows in their train. In Algiers, after an invasion of locusts in 1866, 200,000 persons are said to have perished from famine. The destruction wrought frequently by the Rocky Mountain locust, over a large area of the United States, is almost incalculable (C. V. Riley, The Rocky Mountain Locust, chaps. Joel 2:5). Cf. Pliny's words, below, p. 87.

all faces shall gather blackness This rendering is not defensible [37]; but the meaning of the phrase (which recurs Nahum 2:10) cannot be said to be certain. Modern scholars, following Ibn Ezra and Abul-walid, generally render gather in beauty, i.e. withdraw colour and freshness(paraphrased in R.V. by are waxed pale); but it is some objection to this rendering that it gives to ḳibbçtza sense which is otherwise only known to be associated with the synonym âsaph(see Joel 2:10).

[37] פארור for פרור would indeed not be impossible; but to suppose that "gather a boiling-pot" could be said for "gather blackness like that of a boiling-pot" is beyond the limits of credibility. Yet several of the ancient versions and mediaeval Rabbis express this sense.