EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Joel 2:13
13Stop pulling your clothes to pieces. That does not help. Show me instead that you are really sorry.’ Return to the Lord, your God. He is kind and full of grace. He does not quickly become angry, and he is full of love. He is sad that he had to cause troubles for you.
Joel 2:13 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
- New International Version (NIV)Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.
- English Standard Version (ESV)and rend your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
- New King James Version (NKJV)So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.
Context of Joel 2:13
11The Lord shouts aloud as he leads his army. We cannot count his soldiers. Those who obey him are very strong. The day of the Lord is powerful. It makes us afraid. Not many of us will be alive after it has gone. 12‘Even now,’ the Lord says, ‘return to me and put me first. Eat no food. Cry and be very sad. Stop pulling your clothes to pieces. That does not help. Show me instead that you are really sorry.’ Return to the Lord, your God. He is kind and full of grace. He does not quickly become angry, and he is full of love. He is sad that he had to cause troubles for you. 14Perhaps he will change his mind and he will be sorry. He may send you blessings of food and drink. Then you can offer gifts to the Lord your God. 15Blow the trumpet in Zion. Tell the people that they must not eat any food. Tell the people that they must all come to worship him.
Read all of Joel 2Joel 2:13 word by word
וְקִרְע֤וּ לְבַבְכֶם֙ וְאַל־בִּגְדֵיכֶ֔ם וְשׁ֖וּבוּ אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֑ם כִּֽי־חַנּ֤וּן וְרַחוּם֙ ה֔וּא אֶ֤רֶךְ אַפַּ֙יִם֙ וְרַב־חֶ֔סֶד וְנִחָ֖ם עַל־הָרָעָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And rendקָרַעqâra‛ · to tearH7167
- your heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- and not your garmentsבֶּ֫גֶדbeged · garmentH899
- and turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- graciousחַנּוּןchannûn · graciousH2587
- and mercifulרַחוּםrachûm · compassionateH7349
- slowאָרֵךְ'ârêk · slowH750
- to angerאַף'aph · face: angerH639
- and of greatרַבrab · manyH7227
- kindnessחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
- and repentethנָחַםnâcham · to be sorry: relentH5162
- him of the evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
Cross-references for Joel 2:13
- 2 Kings 22:19When you heard the message that I had spoken, you were very upset. You made yourself humble to respect me. You tore your clothes and you wept. You did that when you heard how I would punish this place and the people who live here. I said that I would destroy this place so that people would use its name as a curse. Because you became so upset, I have heard your prayer.
- Psalms 34:18When people are upset, the Lord is near to them. He saves those who feel very weak and upset.
- Psalms 51:17You want me to be humble and sorry. That is the sacrifice that you want. When people are humble and they turn away from their sins, you will not refuse them.
- Isaiah 57:15The Mighty God is far higher than all others. He rules from above and he lives for ever. His name is holy. He says, ‘I live in a high and holy place. But I am also with anyone who is humble and who is sorry when he does wrong things. I will comfort people who are like that, and I will give them hope.
- Isaiah 66:2I made all these things with my own hands. That is how everything began.’ The Lord says, ‘I am pleased with people who are humble. Those people are sorry when they do wrong things. They respect my teaching.
- Ezekiel 9:4He said, ‘Go everywhere in the city of Jerusalem. Find the people who are very sad because of the disgusting things that people are doing in the city. Use your pens to put a mark on those people. Put the mark on the front of their heads.’
- Matthew 5:3‘Happy are the people who know that they need God very much. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like that.
- Genesis 37:29Later, Reuben returned to the dry well. He saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes because he was very upset.
- 2 Samuel 1:11Then David tore his clothes because he was very upset. The men who were with him did the same thing.
- 1 Kings 21:27When Ahab heard Elijah's message, he tore his clothes into pieces. He dressed himself in sackcloth and he did not eat any food. He even wore sackcloth when he slept on his bed. He walked slowly with a sad face.
- 2 Kings 5:7When the king of Israel read the letter, he was very upset. He tore his clothes. He said, ‘I am not God, am I? I cannot kill people or make them alive again. Why does he think that I can make this man well again? I see that he is trying to start a fight with me.’
- 2 Kings 6:30When the king heard the woman's words, he was very upset. He tore his clothes. As he walked along the wall, people could see what he was wearing. They saw that he was wearing sackcloth under his other clothes.
- 2 Kings 22:11When the king heard the words from the Book of the Law, he was very upset. He tore his clothes.
- Job 1:20When Job heard this news he was very upset. He tore his clothes and he cut off all his hair. Then he bent down low on the ground to worship God.
- Isaiah 58:5The way that you fast does not please me at all: You make yourselves humble for a day. You bend down your head, like a piece of weak grass. You lie down on sackcloth and ashes. Do you think that you are really fasting when you do that? Do you think that it pleases me, the Lord?
- Matthew 6:16Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time. But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get.
Commentaries on Joel 2:13
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 13Rend your heart - Let it not be merely a rending of your garments, but let your hearts be truly contrite. Merely external worship and hypocritical pretensions will only increase the evil, and cause God to meet you with heavier judgments. For he is gracious - Good and benevolent in his own nature. Merciful - Pitying and forgiving, as the effect of goodness and benevolence. Slow to anger - He is not easily provoked to punish, because he is gracious and…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 13And rend your hearts and not your garments - that is, “not your garments only” (see the note at Hosea 6:6). The rending of the clothes was an expression of extraordinary uncontrollable emotion, chiefly of grief, of terror, or of horror. At least, in Holy Scripture it is not mentioned as a part of ordinary mourning, but only upon some sudden overpowering grief, whether public or private. It was not used on occasion of death, unless there were something…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 13In the ancient world, people showed grief by tearing their clothes (Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 3:31; 2 Kings 19:1). rend your hearts: In Hebrew culture, the heart represents thought, faith, and will. God wanted people to repent inwardly, not just outwardly. This meant changing their mindset, priorities, and attitudes. They could only do this by returning to the Lord. For He is gracious and compassionate … abounding in loving devotion: The people's only hope…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1313. Let there be the inward sorrow of heart, and not the mere outward manifestation of it by "rending the garment" (Jos 7:6). the evil--the calamity which He had threatened against the impenitent.Read the comment
Topics related to Joel 2:13
In the dictionaries
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
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