New International Version
Joel 2:3
3Before 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Fire burns in front of them, and flames follow after them. Ahead of them the land lies as beautiful as the Garden of Eden. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes.
Context of Joel 2:3
1Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand— 2a 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. 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. 4They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry. 5With a noise like that of chariots they leap over the mountaintops, like a crackling fire consuming stubble, like a mighty army drawn up for battle.
Read all of Joel 2Joel 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 1:19To you, Lord, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
- Psalms 50:3Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.
- Amos 7:4This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
- Genesis 2:8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.
- Genesis 13:10Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
- Isaiah 51:3The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.
- Ezekiel 31:8The cedars in the garden of God could not rival it, nor could the junipers equal its boughs, nor could the plane trees compare with its branches— no tree in the garden of God could match its beauty.
- Joel 1:4What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten.
- Exodus 10:5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.
- Jeremiah 5:17They will devour your harvests and food, devour your sons and daughters; they will devour your flocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.
- Zechariah 7:14‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’ ”
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
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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