Tree of Life Version
Joel 2:3
3A fire devours before them and behind them flame blazes up. Like the Garden of Eden is the land before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. Nothing at all ever 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.
- 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 shofar in Zion! Sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all living in the land tremble— for the day of Adonai is coming— surely it is near! 2A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as blackness spreads over the mountains. A great and mighty people— from antiquity there was never anything like it, nor after it ever again from generation to generation. A fire devours before them and behind them flame blazes up. Like the Garden of Eden is the land before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness. Nothing at all ever escapes them. 4Their appearance is like the appearance of horses— they gallop like war horses. 5Like the clatter of chariots, they leap on the tops of mountains, like crackling flame of fire devouring stubble, like a mighty horde in battle array.
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, Adonai, I cry! For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has set ablaze all the trees of the field.
- Psalms 50:3Our God comes, and does not keep silent. A fire is devouring before Him, and it storms around Him mightily.
- Amos 7:4This is what my Lord Adonai has shown me: Behold, Adonai Elohim was calling for the trial by fire, and it would have devoured the great deep, and it would have devoured the territory.
- Genesis 2:8Then Adonai Elohim planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
- Genesis 13:10Lot lifted up his eyes and saw that the whole area surrounding the Jordan was well watered in its entirety (before Adonai destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah)—like Adonai’s garden, like the land of Egypt—till you come to Zoar.
- Isaiah 51:3For Adonai will comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of Adonai. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and a sound of melody.
- Ezekiel 31:8The cedars in the garden of God could not compare with it. No cypress trees could rival its boughs. No plane-trees could match its branches. No tree in the garden of God could compare to its beauty.
- Joel 1:4What the locust left, the swarming locust has eaten, and what the swarming locust left, the canker-worm has eaten, and what the canker-worm left, the caterpillar has eaten.
- Exodus 10:5Then they will cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the ground. They will eat the remainder of what escaped—whatever is left from the hail—and eat every tree that grows for you out in the field.
- 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 herds. They will devour your vines and your fig trees. They will demolish your fortified cities —the ones in which you trust— with the sword.
- Zechariah 7:14‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations they have not known. Thus the land was left so desolate behind them that no one passed through or returned, for 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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