English Standard Version
Joel 1:6
6For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions' teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
Joel 1:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
- New International Version (NIV)A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness.
- New King James Version (NKJV)For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness.
Context of Joel 1:6
4What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. 5Awake, you drunkards, and weep, and wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions' teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness. 7It has laid waste my vine and splintered my fig tree; it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down; their branches are made white. 8Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.
Read all of Joel 1Joel 1:6 word by word
כִּֽי־גוֹי֙ עָלָ֣ה עַל־אַרְצִ֔י עָצ֖וּם וְאֵ֣ין מִסְפָּ֑ר שִׁנָּיו֙ שִׁנֵּ֣י אַרְיֵ֔ה וּֽמְתַלְּע֥וֹת לָבִ֖יא לֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- For a nationגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- is come upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- upon my landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- strongעָצוּם‛âtsûm ‛âtsûm · mightyH6099
- and without numberמִסְפָּרmispâr · numberH4557
- whose teethשֵׁןshên · toothH8127
- of a lionאַרְיֵה'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
- and he hath the cheek teethמְתַלְּעוֹתmethalle‛âh · jawH4973
- of a great lionלָבִיאlâbîy' lebîyâ' lebâ'îym lebâ'ôth · lionH3833
Cross-references for Joel 1:6
- Joel 2:2a 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.
- Proverbs 30:25the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer;
- Psalms 107:34a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants.
- Isaiah 8:8and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel."
- Isaiah 32:13for the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city.
- Hosea 9:3They shall not remain in the land of the Lord, but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean food in Assyria.
- Proverbs 30:14There are those whose teeth are swords, whose fangs are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mankind.
- Revelation 9:7In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces,
Commentaries on Joel 1:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6A nation is come up upon my land - That real locusts are intended there can be little doubt; but it is thought that this may be a double prophecy, and that the destruction by the Chaldeans may also be intended, and that the four kinds of locusts mentioned above may mean the four several attacks made on Judea by them. The first in the last year of Nabonassar, (father of Nebuchadnezzar), which was the third of Jehoiakim; the second when Jehoiakim was taken…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6For a nation is come up upon my land - He calls this scourge of God a “nation,” giving them the title most used in Holy Scripture, of pagan nations. The like term, “people, folk,” is used of the “ants” and the “conies” Proverbs 30:25-26, for the wisdom with which God teaches them to act. Here it is used, in order to include at once, the irrational invader, guided by a Reason above its own, and the pagan conqueror. This enemy, he says, is “come up” (for…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-20The prophet Joel describes a severe locust plague that struck Judah and Jerusalem.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. nation--applied to the locusts, rather than "people" (Pr 30:25, 26), to mark not only their numbers, but also their savage hostility; and also to prepare the mind of the hearer for the transition to the figurative locusts in the second chapter, namely, the "nation" or Gentile foe coming against Judea (compare Joe 2:2). my land--that is, Jehovah's; which never would have been so devastated were I not pleased to inflict punishment (Joe 2:18; Is 14:25; Jr…Read the comment
Topics related to Joel 1:6
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries