New International Version
Joel 2:6
6At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.
Joel 2:6 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with terror.
Context of Joel 2:6
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. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. 7They charge like warriors; they scale walls like soldiers. They all march in line, not swerving from their course. 8They do not jostle each other; each marches straight ahead. They plunge through defenses without breaking ranks.
Read all of Joel 2Joel 2:6 word by word
מִפָּנָ֖יו יָחִ֣ילוּ עַמִּ֑ים כָּל־פָּנִ֖ים קִבְּצ֥וּ פָארֽוּר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Joel 2:6
- Psalms 119:83Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke, I do not forget your decrees.
- Isaiah 13:8Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.
- Jeremiah 8:21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.
- Jeremiah 30:6Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale?
- Lamentations 4:8But now they are blacker than soot; they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has shriveled on their bones; it has become as dry as a stick.
- Nahum 2:10She is pillaged, plundered, stripped! Hearts melt, knees give way, bodies tremble, every face grows pale.
Commentaries on Joel 2:6
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6All faces shall gather blackness - Universal mourning shall take place, because they know that such a plague is irresistible.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained - The locust being such a scourge of God, good reason have men to be terrified at their approach; and those are most terrified who have most felt the affliction. In Abyssinia, some province of which was desolated every year, one relates, “When the locusts travel, the people know of it a day before, not because they see them, but they see the sun yellow and the ground yellow, through the shadow which they…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6Nations writhe in horror before them: Anticipating the invasion prepared the people for the call to repentance in Joel 2:12–14.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. much pained--namely, with terror. The Arab proverb is, "More terrible than the locusts." faces shall gather blackness--(Is 13:8; Jr 30:6; Na 2:10). Maurer translates, "withdraw their brightness," that is, wax pale, lose color (compare Joe 2:10; Joe 3:15).Read the comment
Topics related to Joel 2:6
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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Commentaries