Joel 1:15
What does Joel 1:15 mean?
A plain-English look at Joel 1:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Joel 1:15 means
Joel exclaims, “Alas for the day!” because the day of Jehovah is near, coming like destruction from the Almighty. The locust plague is not the final judgment but a harbinger—a living parable of a greater day when God will decisively reckon with sin. Naming God as “the Almighty” stresses His sovereign power to bring it. The wise interpret present disasters as wake-up calls, not mere misfortunes. The New Testament identifies the “day of the Lord” with the return of Christ, when judgment and salvation are consummated. Thus, Joel’s present crisis urges repentance now, before that ultimate day dawns.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
KJV
King James Version · 1611Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Sorrow for the day! for the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Ruler of all it will come.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862And cry unto Jehovah, `Alas for the day! For near <FI>is<Fi> a day of Jehovah, And as destruction from the mighty it cometh.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Ah, ah, ah, for the day: because the day of the Lord is at hand, and it shall come like destruction from the mighty.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Alas for the day! for the day of Jehovah is at hand, and as destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Context
After prescribing a fast, Joel gives the deepest reason: the present calamity signals the nearness of Jehovah’s day. This eschatological note reframes the entire disaster, lending urgency to the cries for mercy. The next verses will return to concrete symptoms—lack of food, cessation of gladness in God’s house, failed seed, ruined barns, suffering beasts—showing how the harbinger touches every sphere. The flow alternates between theological frame and practical effects to compel heartfelt seeking of God before the greater day arrives.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Joel 2:1
Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
- Luke 19:41
And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it,
- Revelation 6:17
for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand?
- Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.
- Ezekiel 7:2
And thou, son of man, thus saith the Lord Jehovah unto the land of Israel, An end: the end is come upon the four corners of the land.
- James 5:9
Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.
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