Joel 2:3

Joel 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste— nothing escapes them.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them.

Context of Joel 2:3

1Blow the trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment], Sound an alarm on My holy mountain [Zion]! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble and shudder in fear, For the [judgment] day of the Lord is coming; It is close at hand, 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. Before them a fire devours, And behind them a flame burns; Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden, But behind them a desolate wilderness; And nothing at all escapes them. 4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, And they run like war horses. 5Like the noise of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble, Like a mighty people set in battle formation.

Joel 2:3 word by word

לְפָנָיו֙ אָ֣כְלָה אֵ֔שׁ וְאַחֲרָ֖יו תְּלַהֵ֣ט לֶֽהָבָ֑ה כְּגַן־עֵ֨דֶן הָאָ֜רֶץ לְפָנָ֗יו וְאַֽחֲרָיו֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר שְׁמָמָ֔ה וְגַם־פְּלֵיטָ֖ה לֹא־הָ֥יְתָה לּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
• devourethאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• them; and behindאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• them a flameלֶהָבָהlehâbâh lahebeth · flameH3852
• burnethלָהַטlâhaţ · to kindleH3857
• the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• as the gardenגַּןgan · gardenH1588
• of Edenעֵ֫דֶן‛êden · EdenH5731
• them a desolateשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• yea, and nothing shall escapeפְּלֵיטָהpelêyţâh pelêţâh · survivorH6413

Cross-references for Joel 2:3

• Joel 1:19O Lord, I cry out to You, For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
• Psalms 50:3May our God come and not keep silent; Fire devours before Him, And around Him a mighty tempest rages.
• Amos 7:4Thus the Lord God showed me, and behold, the Lord God called for punishment with fire, and it devoured the great deep [underground sources of water] and began to consume the land.
• Genesis 2:8And the Lord God planted a garden (oasis) in the east, in Eden (delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there.
• Genesis 13:10So Lot looked and saw that the valley of the Jordan was well watered everywhere—this was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar [at the south end of the Dead Sea].
• Isaiah 51:3For the Lord will comfort Zion [in her captivity]; He will comfort all her ruins. And He will make her wilderness like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.
• Ezekiel 31:8The cedars in the garden of God could not hide or rival it; The cypress trees did not have boughs like it, And the plane trees did not have branches like it. No tree in the garden of God was like it in its beauty.
• Joel 1:4What 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].
• Exodus 10:5They shall cover the [visible] surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the ground, and they will eat the rest of what has remained—that is, the vegetation left after the hail—and they will eat every one of your trees that grows in the field;
• Jeremiah 5:17They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread; They will consume your sons and your daughters; They will consume your flocks and your herds; They will consume your vines and your fig trees. With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.
• Zechariah 7:14“but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after they had gone, so that no one passed through or returned, for they [by their sins] had made the pleasant land desolate and deserted.”

Commentaries on Joel 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3A fire devoureth before them - They consume like a general conflagration. "They destroy the ground, not only for the time, but burn trees for two years after." Sir Hans Sloane, Nat. Hist. of Jamaica, vol. i., p. 29. Behind them a flame burneth - "Wherever they feed," says Ludolf, in his History of Ethiopia, "their leavings seem as if parched with fire." Nothing shall escape them - "After devouring the herbage," says Adanson, "with the fruits and leaves of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3A fire devoureth before them … - Travelers, of different nations and characters, and in different lands, some unacquainted with the Bible words, have agreed to describe under this image the ravages of locusts.: “They scorch many things with their touch.”: “Whatever of herb or leaf they gnaw, is, as it were, scorched by fire.”: “Wherever they come, the ground seems burned, as it were with fire.”: “Wherever they pass, they burn and spoil everything, and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3The destruction caused by the invading army would be like a fire that spreads quickly and destroys everything in its path. Before the attack, the land looked like the garden of Eden. After the attack, the land would be empty and ruined. This image reverses the hope described in Isaiah 51:3 and Ezekiel 36:35.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. before ... behind--that is, on every side (1Ch 19:10). fire ... flame--destruction ... desolation (Is 10:17). as ... Eden ... wilderness--conversely (Is 51:3; Eze 36:35).Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 2:3

• Eden
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Joel
• War

In the dictionaries

• Eden
• Eden, garden of Eden
• Darkness
• Fat
• Pour
• Rend
• Reproach
• Thrust
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Garden

Commentaries on Joel 2

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings