Joel 1:2

Joel 1:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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?
• New International Version (NIV)Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Hear this, you elders, And give ear, all you inhabitants of the land! Has anything like this happened in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers?

Context of Joel 1:2

1The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel. Hear this, O elders, Listen closely, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing as this occurred in your days, Or even in the days of your fathers? 3Tell your children about it, And let your children tell their children, And their children the next generation. 4What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten [in judgment of Judah].

Joel 1:2 word by word

שִׁמְעוּ־זֹאת֙ הַזְּקֵנִ֔ים וְהַֽאֲזִ֔ינוּ כֹּ֖ל יוֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ הֶהָ֤יְתָה זֹּאת֙ בִּֽימֵיכֶ֔ם וְאִ֖ם בִּימֵ֥י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Hearשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• this, ye old menזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• and give earאָזַן'âzan · to listenH238
• all ye inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• of the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• Hath this been in your daysיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• or evenאִם'im · ifH518
• of your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1

Cross-references for Joel 1:2

• Psalms 49:1Hear this, all peoples; Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,
• Isaiah 34:1Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples! Let the earth and all that is in it hear, and the world and all that comes forth from it.
• Jeremiah 5:21‘Now hear this, O foolish people without heart, Who have eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.
• Hosea 5:1Hear this and pay close attention, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear, Because you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).
• Amos 3:1Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt:
• Amos 4:1Hear this word, you [well-fed, pampered] cows (women) of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria, Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, Who say to their husbands, “Bring [the wine] now, and let us drink!”
• Amos 5:1Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral song, O house of Israel:
• Micah 1:2Hear, O peoples, all of you; Listen closely, O earth and all that is in it, And let the Lord God be witness [giving a testimony of the judgment] against you, The Lord from His holy temple [in the heavens].
• Micah 3:1And I said, “Hear now, heads of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know and administer justice?
• Matthew 13:9He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words.”
• Revelation 2:7He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant [the privilege] to eat [the fruit] from the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.’
• Job 8:8“Inquire, please, of past generations, And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.
• Job 12:12With the aged [you say] is wisdom, And with long life is understanding.
• Job 15:10Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged, Older than your father.
• Job 21:7Why do the wicked still live, Become old, and become mighty in power?
• Joel 2:2A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist, Like the dawn spread over the mountains; There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty, The like of which has never been before Nor will be again afterward Even for years of many generations.

Commentaries on Joel 1:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Ye old men - Instead of הזקנים hazzekenim old men, a few MSS. have הכהנים haccohanim, ye priests, but improperly. Hath this been in your days - He begins very abruptly; and before he proposes his subject, excites attention and alarm by intimating that he is about to announce disastrous events, such as the oldest man among them has never seen, nor any of them learnt from the histories of ancient times.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Hear this, ye old men - By reason of their age they had known and heard much; they had heard from their fathers, and their father‘s fathers, much which they had not known themselves. Among the people of the east, memories of past times were handed down from generation to generation, for periods, which to us would seem incredible. Israel was commanded, so to transmit the vivid memories of the miracles of God. The prophet appeals “to the old men, to hear,”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Hear this: Joel called the people to pay close attention to the prophecy. elders: The prophet asked the community elders if anything like this had happened before. It had not. This disaster was unique in the history of God's people.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-32-3. A spirited introduction calling attention. old men--the best judges in question concerning the past (De 32:7; Job 32:7). Hath this been, &c.--that is, Hath any so grievous a calamity as this ever been before? No such plague of locusts had been since the ones in Egypt. Ex 10:14 is not at variance with this verse, which refers to Judea, in which Joel says there had been no such devastation before.Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 1:2

• Nation

In the dictionaries

• Joel (2)
• Joel

Commentaries on Joel 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings