Joel 2:15
What does Joel 2:15 mean?
A plain-English look at Joel 2:15 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Joel 2:15 means
Repeating the urgency from verse 1, Joel commands the blowing of the trumpet in Zion, but this time it is a summons for a solemn assembly focused on repentance. The call to "sanctify a fast" and "call a solemn assembly" underscores the need for corporate, communal action in seeking God’s mercy. This emphasizes that the crisis demands not just individual repentance but a unified, public demonstration of humility and seeking God's face as a people, setting the stage for general corporate repentance.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;
KJV
King James Version · 1611Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly;
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Let a horn be sounded in Zion, let a time be fixed for going without food, have a holy meeting:
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast--proclaim a restraint.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Blow the trumpet in Sion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly,
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890Blow the trumpet in Zion, hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly;
Context
Having offered the hope of God relenting in verse 14, Joel now issues a renewed and more specific command for a corporate response. This verse reiterates the trumpet call, but now explicitly links it to a public fast and solemn assembly, initiating a series of verses that detail the inclusive nature of this collective repentance, emphasizing that everyone must participate.
v.14Who knoweth whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal-offering and a drink-offering unto Jehovah your God?
v.15This passage
v.16gather the people, sanctify the assembly, assemble the old men, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts; let the bridegroom go forth from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- 2 Kings 10:20
And Jehu said, Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.
- Joel 1:14
Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the old men and all the inhabitants of the land unto the house of Jehovah your God, and cry unto Jehovah.
- Jeremiah 36:9
Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah.
- 1 Kings 21:9
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
- Numbers 10:3
And when they shall blow them, all the congregation shall gather themselves unto thee at the door of the tent of meeting.
- 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;
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