Joel 2:3
What does Joel 2:3 mean?
A plain-English look at Joel 2:3 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Joel 2:3 means
This verse portrays the overwhelming destruction brought by the invading force. Before them, the land is as beautiful and fertile as the Garden of Eden; but after their passage, it is utterly transformed into a desolate wilderness, a testament to their devouring power. The imagery of consuming fire before and a burning flame behind highlights the completeness of their destruction, indicating that nothing escapes their path. This emphasizes the profound and irreversible ruin that accompanies the day of the Lord.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000A 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 none hath escaped them.
KJV
King James Version · 1611A 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.
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901A 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 none hath escaped them.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949Before them fire sends destruction, and after them flame is burning: the land is like the garden of Eden before them, and after them an unpeopled waste; truly, nothing has been kept safe from them.
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862Before it consumed hath fire, And after it burn doth a flame, As the garden of Eden <FI>is<Fi> the land before it, And after it a wilderness--a desolation! And also an escape there hath not been to it,
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752Before the face thereof a devouring fire, and behind it a burning flame: the land is like a garden of pleasure before it, and behind it a desolate wilderness, neither is there any one that can escape it.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth; the land is as a garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness: yea, and nothing escapeth them.
Context
Continuing the description of the invading force and the "Day of the Lord," this verse focuses on the extent of their devastating impact. It contrasts the former beauty of the land with its utter desolation after the invasion, providing a powerful picture of the judgment's physical consequences, which further elaborates the unparalleled nature described in verse 2.
v.2a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, as the dawn spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
v.3This passage
v.4The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run.
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Psalms 105:34
He spake, and the locust came, And the grasshopper, and that without number,
- Ezekiel 31:8
The cedars in the garden of God could not hide it; the fir-trees were not like its boughs, and the plane-trees were not as its branches; nor was any tree in the garden of God like unto it in its beauty.
- Exodus 10:15
For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 10:5
and they shall cover the face of the earth, so that one shall not be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
- Zechariah 7:14
but I will scatter them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after them, so that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.
- Joel 1:4
That which the palmer-worm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the canker-worm eaten; and that which the canker-worm hath left hath the caterpillar eaten.
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