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 ram’s horn in Zion. Sound the alarm on my holy mountain. Everyone who lives in the land should tremble, because the day of the Lord is coming. Certainly, it is near. 2It is a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and overcast skies. A large and mighty army will spread over the mountains like the dawn. Nothing like this has ever happened. Nothing like this will ever happen again. In front of this army a fire burns. Behind it flames are blazing. In front of it the land is like the garden of Eden. Behind it the land is like a barren desert. Nothing escapes it! 4The soldiers look like horses. They run like war horses. 5As they leap on mountaintops, they sound like rattling chariots, like crackling fire burning up straw, and like a mighty army prepared for battle.

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 to you for help! Fire has burned up the open pastures. Flames have burned up all the trees in the orchards.
• Psalms 50:3Our God will come and will not remain silent. A devouring fire is in front of him and a raging storm around him.
• Amos 7:4This is what the Almighty Lord showed me: The Almighty Lord was calling for judgment by fire. The fire dried up the ocean and burned up the land.
• Genesis 2:8The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. That’s where he put the man whom he had formed.
• Genesis 13:10Then Lot looked in the direction of Zoar as far as he could see. He saw that the whole Jordan Plain was well-watered like the Lord’s garden or like Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
• Isaiah 51:3So the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all those who live among its ruins. He will make its desert like Eden. He will make its wilderness like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
• Ezekiel 31:8The cedar trees in God’s garden couldn’t compare to it. The pine trees couldn’t equal its branches. The plane trees couldn’t measure up to its branches. All the trees in God’s garden couldn’t match its beauty.
• Joel 1:4What young locusts leave, mature locusts will eat. What mature locusts leave, adult locusts will eat. What adult locusts leave, grasshoppers will eat.
• Exodus 10:5They will cover the land so that the ground can’t be seen. They will eat everything left by the hail, including every tree still standing in the fields.
• Jeremiah 5:17They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.
• Zechariah 7:14I used a windstorm to scatter them among all the nations, nations they hadn’t even heard of. They left behind a land so ruined that no one is able to travel through it. They have turned a pleasant land into a wasteland.”

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