Joel 2:11
in Joel 2The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army. Indeed, His camp is very large, for mighty are those who obey His command. For the Day of the LORD is great and very dreadful. Who can endure it?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
KJV
And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
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This verse in Joel 2
Commentary
14 notes on this verseAnd the Lord shall utter his voice before his army,.... Either the army of the locusts, whom Pliny (u) calls "pestis deorum", "the plague of the gods"; and the Arabians frequently style them the army of God. It is a tradition of theirs that locusts fell into the hands of Mahomet, with this inscription on their backs and wings, "we are the army of the most high God;'' and because they were, for that reason Mahomet made a law that none should kill them; See Gill on Rev 9:
This site's exposition
Before them the earth quakes
on Joel 2:10-11
The words "Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble" carry the plague from Judah's fields to the sky. "The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army", so whatever army is meant marches at his word. Its closing question, "Who can endure it", is left unanswered.
This site's exposition
The LORD raises His voice
The verse names who commands the army. The LORD gives the order and the swarm carries it out, and John Gill notes that Arabic writers called the locusts the army of God. The closing question is left for verse 12 to answer.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:161 · Written before 253.
proposed
But since these are light perceived by the senses, which are said in Moses to have come into existence on the fourth day, they are not the true light because they enlighten the things on the earth. The Savior, on the other hand, is the light of the spiritual world because he shines on those who are rational and intellectual, that their mind may see its proper visions. Now I mean he is the light of those rational souls which are in the sensible world, of which the Savior teaches us that he is the Maker, being, perhaps, its directing and principal artificer, and, so to speak, the sun of the great Day of the Lord.
If then the beginning of time is called "one day" rather than "the first day," it is because Scripture wishes to establish its relationship with eternity. It was, in reality, fit and natural to call "one" the day whose character is to be one wholly separated and isolated from all the others. If Scripture speaks to us of many ages, saying everywhere, "age of age, and ages of ages," we do not see it enumerate them as first, second, and third. It follows that we are hereby shown not so much limits, ends and succession of ages, as distinctions between various states and modes of action. "The day of the Lord," Scripture says, "is great and very terrible," and elsewhere "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord: to what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light." A day of darkness for those who are worthy of darkness.
A commentator
John ChrysostomAGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 12:29 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
When a maidservant is rebelling but then sees her master coming, she grows humble and returns to her good behavior. So too the paralytic's body had revolted like the maidservant, and this caused the paralysis. But when the body saw its master coming near, it returned to its good behavior and resumed its proper discipline. And the word of Christ accomplished all this. Yet the words were not mere words but the words of God, of which the prophet said, "The works of his words are mighty." For if God's words made humankind when they did not exist, much more will they make humanity whole again and restore it to health even though it has grown feeble and weak with disease?
(Chapter 2 — Verses 1 onwards) Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, a large and strong people appears, such as has never been before and will never be again in generations to come. Before them, a devouring fire; behind them, a blazing flame.
He also very cleverly called one day not the first; for the following second, and third day, and thereafter the rest, he could have called the first: and this seemed to be an order, but he established a law, that only twenty-four hours of daylight and darkness should be defined by name for one day, so that if he were to say: "The measure of twenty-four hours is the time of one day."
6 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
An earnest call to repentance, ver. 12-17. A promise of all good things to the penitent, ver. 18-27. A prophecy of the Messiah's kingdom, ver. 28-32.
quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-18/28-anchored-1-11
A serious call to the people, when they are under this sore judgment, to return and repent, to fast and pray, and to seek unto God for mercy, with directions how to do this aright,
It is his army; it is his camp. He raised it; he gives it commission; he utters his voice before it, as the general gives orders to his army what to do and makes a speech to animate the soldiers; it is the Lord that gives the word of command to all these animals, which they exactly observe.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Lord . . . his army--So among Mohammedans, "Lord of the locusts" is a title of God. his voice--His word of command to the locusts, and to the antitypical human foes of Judea, as "His army." strong that executeth his word-- (Re 18:8).
The Lord shall utter his voice - Such a mighty force seems as if summoned by the Almighty, and the noise they make in coming announces their approach, while yet afar off.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the Lord shall utter His voice - The prophet had described at length the coming of God’s judgments, as a mighty army. But lest amid the judgments, people should, (as they often do) forget the Judge, he represents God, as commanding this His army, gathering, ordering, marshalling, directing them, giving them the word, when and upon whom they should pour themselves. Their presence was a token of His. They should neither anticipate that command, nor linger.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the Lord gave forth (upon them) His voice —by the statement of His prophets prior to His sending this host of His.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
the heavens tremble —Because of the retribution coming upon Israel, they quake and tremble.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיהוָ֗ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נָתַ֤ן | natan | he gives forth | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| קוֹלוֹ֙ | kolo | voice his | H6963 → | 506 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| חֵיל֔וֹ | cheilo | army his | H2428 → | 246 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רַ֤ב | rav | [is] great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| מְאֹד֙ | meod | very | H3966 → | |
| מַחֲנֵ֔הוּ | machanehu | camp his | H4264 → | |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עָצ֖וּם | ʾatzum | [is] mighty | H6099 → | 31 times |
| עֹשֵׂ֣ה | ʾoseh | [the] [one who] does | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| דְבָר֑וֹ | devaro | <of> word his | H1697 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָד֧וֹל | gadol | [is] great | H1419 → | 526 times |
| יוֹם־ | yom- | [the] day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְנוֹרָ֥א | venora' | and awesome | H3372 → | 315 times |
| מְאֹ֖ד | meod | exceedingly | H3966 → | |
| וּמִ֥י | umi | and who? | H4310 → | |
| יְכִילֶֽנּוּ׃ | yekhilenu | will he endure it | H3557 → |
וַֽיהוָ֗הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
נָתַ֤ןhe gives forth
natanH5414 →2011 times
קוֹלוֹ֙voice his
koloH6963 →506 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
חֵיל֔וֹarmy his
cheiloH2428 →246 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רַ֤ב[is] great
ravH7227 →454 times
מְאֹד֙very
meodH3966 →
מַחֲנֵ֔הוּcamp his
machanehuH4264 →
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עָצ֖וּם[is] mighty
ʾatzumH6099 →31 times
עֹשֵׂ֣ה[the] [one who] does
ʾosehH6213 →2628 times
דְבָר֑וֹ<of> word his
devaroH1697 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָד֧וֹל[is] great
gadolH1419 →526 times
יוֹם־[the] day of
yom-H3117 →2304 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְנוֹרָ֥אand awesome
venora'H3372 →315 times
מְאֹ֖דexceedingly
meodH3966 →
וּמִ֥יand who?
umiH4310 →
יְכִילֶֽנּוּ׃will he endure it
yekhilenuH3557 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Malachi 3:2But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Isaiah 4:4
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
- 1 Corinthians 3:13–15
his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
- Revelation 6:17
For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
- Zechariah 13:9
Through
Revelation 6:17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
it leads to
- Malachi 3:2
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 76:7
You alone are to be feared. When You are angry, who can stand before You?
- Malachi 3:2
Through
Joel 3:16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
it leads to
- Joel 2:10–11
Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
- Amos 1:2
He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
- Joel 2:10–11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joel
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, The Six Days of Creation 1.10.37; Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Hexaemeron 2.8; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Chrysostom, AGAINST THE ANOMOEANS, HOMILY 12:29; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:161.