EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Joel 2:2
2That day will be sad and dark. There will be dark clouds. A great big army is coming. It comes across the sky like light in the morning. A great army like this has never come before. And it will never come again in future years.
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 trumpet in Zion. Tell the people on the Lord's hill that they must watch for trouble. All the people who live in this country will be afraid. They will be afraid because the day of the Lord is coming. It is very near. That day will be sad and dark. There will be dark clouds. A great big army is coming. It comes across the sky like light in the morning. A great army like this has never come before. And it will never come again in future years. 3Fire goes in front of the army. It burns everything behind them. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden. Behind them it is like a desert. They leave nothing behind them. 4They look like horses. And they run fast to the war.
Read all of Joel 2Joel 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 in front of them moves. The sky itself moves. The sun and moon are dark and the stars do not give any light.
- Joel 3:14Many nations are in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It is there that the day of the Lord will soon come.
- Exodus 20:21So the people stayed away from the mountain. But Moses walked towards the thick, dark cloud, where God was.
- Psalms 97:2Dark clouds are all round the Lord. He rules with justice, and he is fair to everyone.
- Isaiah 5:30On the day that they attack, the enemy will roar over the people that they catch. They will make a noise like a rough sea. If anyone looks across the land, it will be completely dark because of all the trouble. Clouds will make the light of day become dark.
- Isaiah 8:22They will look down at the earth, but they will only see trouble. Everywhere will be dark and people will have no hope. Then they will fall into complete darkness.
- Jeremiah 13:16Give honour to the Lord your God, before it is too late. Do it before he makes everywhere become dark. Then you will fall down, like someone who walks on the mountains at night. You may hope for light to come, but God will make it completely dark.
- Amos 5:18You want the special day of the Lord to come. But it will be very bad for you! You think that God will punish your enemies on that day. But that day will not bring light to you, it will bring darkness.
- Zephaniah 1:14The time for the great day of the Lord is coming very soon. It will happen quickly. Strong men will weep when they hear the noise of it.
- Hebrews 12:18You have come near to God. But you have not come to a place that you can touch, like Sinai mountain. That mountain burned with fire. But where the people stood, it was completely dark. They could not see at all. There was also a very strong wind and a storm.
- Jude 1:13Those false teachers are like water in the sea that the wind blows during a storm. The dirt that comes to the top of the water is like the disgusting things that those people do. They are like stars that have moved away from their proper places in the sky. God has prepared a completely dark place for them. God will keep them there for ever.
- Amos 4:13I made the mountains and I made the wind. I tell people what I have decided to do. I change dawn into night. I walk on the high places of the earth. My name is the Lord God Almighty.’
- Joel 2:5Their noise is like the noise of many feet. They jump over the mountains as fast as fire burns dry grass. They are like a great army ready for a fight.
- Joel 1:6A strong army has marched into my land. It is powerful, and great in numbers. It has the teeth of a strong animal. And the teeth are long and dangerous.
- Joel 1:2You older men, hear this! Listen, all people who live in this country. Nothing like this has happened while you have been alive. Nothing like this happened while your ancestors were alive.
- Exodus 10:6They will fill your houses, and your officers' houses. They will fill all the houses in Egypt! It will be worse than anything that your fathers or your grandfathers have ever seen. Nothing like this has ever happened in Egypt before now.” ’ Then Moses turned away and left Pharaoh.
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
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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