Joel 2:4

Joel 2:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
• New International Version (NIV)They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run.

Context of Joel 2:4

2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3A 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. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

Joel 2:4 word by word

כְּמַרְאֵ֥ה סוּסִ֖ים מַרְאֵ֑הוּ וּכְפָרָשִׁ֖ים כֵּ֥ן יְרוּצֽוּן׃Read the interlinear

• The appearanceמַרְאֶהmar'eh · appearanceH4758
• of horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• and as horsemenפָּרָשׁpârâsh · horseH6571
• so shall they runרוּץrûts · to run: runH7323

Cross-references for Joel 2:4

• Revelation 9:7And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

Commentaries on Joel 2:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The appearance of horses - The head of the locust is remarkably like that of the horse; and so Ray on Insects describes them: Caput oblongum, equi instar, prona spectans - "They have an oblong head, like to that of a horse, bending downward." On this account the Italians call them cavaletta, cavalry. Bochart remarks, from an Arabic writer, that the locusts resemble ten different kinds of animals: The Horse in its head. The Elephant in its eyes. The Bull…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4The appearance of them, is as the appearance of horses - “If you carefully consider the head of the locust,” says Theodoret, a Bishop in Syria, “you will find it exceedingly like that of a horse.” Whence the Arabs, of old and to this day, say; “In the locust, slight as it is, is the nature of ten of the larger animals, the face of a horse, the eyes of an elephant, the neck of abull, the horns of a deer, the chest of a lion, the belly of a scorpion, the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Their appearance is like that of horses: The similarity between locusts and horses (see also Revelation 9:7) emphasizes the image of locusts as an army. With a sound like that of chariot: A swarm of locusts can make an extremely loud noise that is hard to endure.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. appearance ... of horses--(Re 9:7). Not literal, but figurative locusts. The fifth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (Re 9:1-11), cannot be literal: for in Re 9:11 it is said, "they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit"--in the Hebrew, Abaddon ("destroyer"), but in the Greek, Apollyon--and (Re 9:7) "on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." Compare Joe 2:11, "the day of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 2:4

• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Joel
• War

In the dictionaries

• Darkness
• Fat
• Pour
• Rend
• Reproach
• Thrust
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Horse
• Joel (2)
• Locust

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