Joel 2:20

Joel 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.
• New International Version (NIV)“I will drive the northern horde far from you, pushing it into a parched and barren land; its eastern ranks will drown in the Dead Sea and its western ranks in the Mediterranean Sea. And its stench will go up; its smell will rise.” Surely he has done great things!
• English Standard Version (ESV)"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“But I will remove far from you the northern army, And will drive him away into a barren and desolate land, With his face toward the eastern sea And his back toward the western sea; His stench will come up, And his foul odor will rise, Because he has done monstrous things.”

Context of Joel 2:20

18Then the Lord will be zealous for His land, And will have compassion for His people. 19The Lord will answer and say to His people, “Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine, and oil, And you will be satisfied in full with them; And I will never again make you a disgrace among the nations. But I will remove the northern army far from you, And I will drive it into a dry and desolate land, Its advance guard into the eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will ascend and its odor of decay will come up, Because it has done great things.” 21Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice, For the Lord has done great things. 22Do not fear, animals of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has produced its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.

Joel 2:20 word by word

וְֽאֶת־הַצְּפוֹנִ֞י אַרְחִ֣יק מֵעֲלֵיכֶ֗ם וְהִדַּחְתִּיו֮ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ צִיָּ֣ה וּשְׁמָמָה֒ אֶת־פָּנָ֗יו אֶל־הַיָּם֙ הַקַּדְמֹנִ֔י וְסֹפ֖וֹ אֶל־הַיָּ֣ם הָאַֽחֲר֑וֹן וְעָלָ֣ה בָאְשׁ֗וֹ וְתַ֙עַל֙ צַחֲנָת֔וֹ כִּ֥י הִגְדִּ֖יל לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃Read the interlinear

• But I will removeרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• northernצְפוֹנִיtsephônîy · northernH6830
• And I will driveנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
• it into a dryצִיָּהtsîyâh · drynessH6723
• and desolateשְׁמָמָהshemâmâh shimâmâh · devastationH8077
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• Its advanceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• easternקַדְמֹנִיqadmônîy qadmônîy · easternH6931
• seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• And its rearסוֹףsôph · endH5490
• westernאַחֲרוֹן'achăryôn 'achărôn · lastH314
• stenchבְּאֹשׁbe'ôsh · stenchH889
• will ascendעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• and its odorצַחֲנָהtsachănâh · stenchH6709
• Becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• it has doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• greatגָּדַלgâdal · to magnifyH1431

Cross-references for Joel 2:20

• Joel 2:2A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As dawn is spread over the mountains, So there is a great and mighty people; There has never been anything like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many generations.
• Joel 1:4What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.
• Exodus 10:19So the Lord shifted the wind to a very strong west wind, which picked up the locusts and drove them into the Red Sea; not one locust was left in all the territory of Egypt.
• Jeremiah 1:14Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land.
• Ezekiel 47:7Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river there were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
• Zechariah 14:8And on that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
• Deuteronomy 11:24Every place on which the sole of your foot steps shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.
• Ezekiel 39:12For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
• 2 Kings 8:13Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant--a lowly dog--that he could do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

Commentaries on Joel 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20I will remove far off from you the northern army - "That is, the locusts; which might enter Judea by the north, as Circassia and Mingrelia abound with them. Or the locusts may be thus called, because they spread terror like the Assyrian armies, which entered Judea by the north. See Zephaniah 2:13." - Newcome. Syria, which was northward of Judea, was infested with them; and it must have been a northern wind that brought them into Judea, in the time of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20And I will remove far off from you the northern army - God speaks of the human agent under the figure of the locusts, which perish in the sea; yet so as to show at once, that He did not intend the locust itself, nor to describe the mode in which He should overthrow the human oppressor. He is not speaking of the locust itself, for the Northern is no name for the locust which infested Palestine, since it came from the south; nor would the destruction of the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-27Verses 15-27 The priests and rulers are to appoint a solemn fast. The sinner's supplication is, Spare us, good Lord. God is ready to succour his people; and he waits to be gracious. They prayed that God would spare them, and he answered them. His promises are real answers to the prayers of faith; with him saying and doing are not two things. Some understand these promises figuratively, as pointing to gospel grace, and as fulfilled in the abundant comforts…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20grain, new wine, and oil: God would restore the land's produce. This would provide the elements needed for sacrifice and worship (see Joel 1:10, 13). God would also remove the invading armies from the north.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. the northern army--The Hebrew expresses that the north in relation to Palestine is not merely the quarter whence the invader comes, but is his native land, "the Northlander"; namely, the Assyrian or Babylonian (compare Jr 1:14, 15; Zep 2:13). The locust's native country is not the north, but the south, the deserts of Arabia, Egypt, and Libya. Assyria and Babylon are the type and forerunner of all Israel's foes (Rome, and the final Antichrist), from…Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 2:20

• Dead Sea
• Mediterranean Sea

In the dictionaries

• East sea
• Darkness
• Dead Sea
• Fat
• Pour
• Rend
• Reproach
• Thrust
• Barren; Barrenness
• Dead Sea, the

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