Joel 2:2

Joel 2:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
• New International Version (NIV)a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come.
• English Standard Version (ESV)a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.

Context of Joel 2:2

1Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; in fact, it is near — a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and total darkness, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great and strong people appears, such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come. 3A fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame blazes. The land in front of them is like the garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them. 4Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like war horses.

Joel 2:2 word by word

י֧וֹם חֹ֣שֶׁךְ וַאֲפֵלָ֗ה י֤וֹם עָנָן֙ וַעֲרָפֶ֔ל כְּשַׁ֖חַר פָּרֻ֣שׂ עַל־הֶֽהָרִ֑ים עַ֚ם רַ֣ב וְעָצ֔וּם כָּמֹ֗הוּ לֹ֤א נִֽהְיָה֙ מִן־הָ֣עוֹלָ֔ם וְאַֽחֲרָיו֙ לֹ֣א יוֹסֵ֔ף עַד־שְׁנֵ֖י דּ֥וֹר וָדֽוֹר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• A dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and of gloominessאֲפֵלָה'ăphêlâh · darknessH653
• of cloudsעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• and of thick darknessעֲרָפֶל‛ărâphel · cloudH6205
• as the morningשַׁ֫חַרshachar · dawnH7837
• spreadפָּרַשׂpâraώ · to spreadH6566
• upon the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
• a greatרַבrab · manyH7227
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• and a strongעָצוּם‛âtsûm ‛âtsûm · mightyH6099
• there hath not beenהָיָהhâyâh · to beH1961
• everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
• the like, neither shall be any moreיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• to the yearsשָׁנָהshâneh shânâh · yearH8141
• of manyדּוֹרdôr dôr · generationH1755

Cross-references for Joel 2:2

• Joel 2:10The earth quakes before them; the sky shakes. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars cease their shining.
• Joel 3:14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
• Exodus 20:21And the people remained standing at a distance as Moses approached the total darkness where God was.
• Psalms 97:2Clouds and total darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
• Isaiah 5:30On that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. When one looks at the land, there will be darkness and distress; light will be obscured by clouds.
• Isaiah 8:22They will look toward the earth and see only distress, darkness, and the gloom of affliction, and they will be driven into thick darkness.
• Jeremiah 13:16Give glory to the Lord your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at dusk. You wait for light, but he brings darkest gloom and makes total darkness.
• Amos 5:18Woe to you who long for the day of the Lord! What will the day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
• Zephaniah 1:14The great day of the Lord is near, near and rapidly approaching. Listen, the day of the Lord — then the warrior’s cry is bitter.
• Hebrews 12:18For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm,
• Jude 1:13They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shameful deeds; wandering stars for whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever.
• Amos 4:13He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.
• Joel 2:5They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war.
• Joel 1:6For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
• Joel 1:2Hear this, you elders; listen, all you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?
• Exodus 10:6They will fill your houses, all your officials’ houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians — something your fathers and grandfathers never saw since the time they occupied the land until today.” Then he turned and left Pharaoh’s presence.

Commentaries on Joel 2:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2A day of darkness, etc - The depredations of the locusts are described from the second to the eleventh verse, and their destruction in the twentieth. Dr. Shaw, who saw locusts in Barbary in 1724 and 1725, thus describes them: - "I never observed the mantes, bald locusts, to be gregarious. But the locusts, properly so called, which are so frequently mentioned by sacred as well as profane writers, are sometimes so beyond expression. Those which I saw in…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2A day of darkness and of gloominess - o“A day full of miseries; wherefore he accumulates so many names of terrors. There was inner darkness in the heart, and the darkness of tribulation without. They hid themselves in dark places. There was the cloud between God and them; so that they were not protected nor heard by Him, of which Jeremiah saith, “Thou hast covered Thyself with a cloud, that our prayers should not pass through” Lamentations 3:44. There was…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Some religious leaders taught the people of Jerusalem and Judah that the day of the Lord would bring blessings for God's people. Echoing the prophet Zephaniah (Zephaniah 1:15), Joel declared that it would actually be a day of darkness and gloom (see also Amos 5:18–20).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. darkness ... gloominess ... clouds ... thick darkness--accumulation of synonyms, to intensify the picture of calamity (Is 8:22). Appropriate here, as the swarms of locusts intercepting the sunlight suggested darkness as a fit image of the coming visitation. as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people--Substitute a comma for a colon after mountains: As the morning light spreads itself over the mountains, so a people numerous [Maurer] and…Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 2:2

• Darkness
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Joel
• Locust
• War
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Darkness
• Fat
• Pour
• Rend
• Reproach
• Thrust
• Cloud
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Joel (2)
• Like; Liken; Likeness; Liking

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