Joel 2:21
in Joel 2Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Fear not, O land, be glad and rejoice; for Jehovah hath done great things.
KJV
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
⋯
This verse in Joel 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Fear not, O land - Before, they were bidden to tremble Joe 2:1, now they are bidden, “fear not;” before, “to turn in weeping, fasting and mourning;” now, “to bound for joy and rejoice;” before, “the land mourned;” now, “the land is bidden to rejoice.” The enemy had “done great things;” now the cause of joy is that God had “done great things;” the Almightiness of God overwhelming and sweeping over the might put forth to destroy.
This site's exposition
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice
on Joel 2:21-24
Fear not, O land turns the address for the first time from people to land itself, echoed at verse 22 to the beasts of the field, the whole created order addressed in turn as the plague's reversal reaches every party the plague had touched. The former rain and the latter rain names Israel's two rainy seasons, autumn planting rain and spring ripening rain, both promised together in the first month, an agricultural completeness rather than a partial mercy. The floors full of wheat and the fats overflowing with wine and oil answers 1:10's drink offering cut off with abundance restored to overflowing rather than merely to sufficiency.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The destroyed land shall be watered and made fruitful. When the army is scattered, yet what shall we do if the desolation they have made continue? It is therefore promised (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Fear not, O land,....
A prediction of the setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world, by the pouring out of the Spirit in the latter days,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In an ascending gradation, the land destroyed by the enemy, the beasts of the field, and the children of Zion, the land's inhabitants, are addressed, the former two by personification.
Fear not - for the Lord will do great things - The words are repeated from the preceding verse; Jehovah will do great things in driving them away, and supernaturally restoring the land to fertility.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תִּֽירְאִ֖י | tiri | you fear | H3372 → | 315 times |
| אֲדָמָ֑ה | ʾadamah | O land | H127 → | |
| גִּ֣ילִי | gili | be glad | H1523 → | |
| וּשְׂמָ֔חִי | usemachi | and rejoice | H8055 → | |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הִגְדִּ֥יל | higdil | he has made great | H1431 → | |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ | laasot | to do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תִּֽירְאִ֖יyou fear
tiriH3372 →315 times
אֲדָמָ֑הO land
ʾadamahH127 →
גִּ֣ילִיbe glad
giliH1523 →
וּשְׂמָ֔חִיand rejoice
usemachiH8055 →
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הִגְדִּ֥ילhe has made great
higdilH1431 →
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃to do
laasotH6213 →2628 times
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
Isaiah 41:10Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
it leads to
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Isaiah 43:1–2
Now this is what the LORD says— He who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your…
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
- Joshua 1:9
Through
Jeremiah 33:3Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 29:12
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
- Ephesians 3:20
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us,
- Jeremiah 29:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About Joel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.