Joel 2:23
in Joel 2Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in Jehovah your God; for he giveth you the former rain in just measure, and he causeth to come down for you the rain, the former rain and the latter rain, in the first month.
KJV
Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.
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This verse in Joel 2
Commentary
12 notes on this verseBe glad then, ye children of Zion,.... The people of the Jews, and especially the spiritual and believing part of them; such as were born again, that were born of Zion, and born in Zion, and brought up by her, and in her; the children of that Zion or Jerusalem that is the mother of us all; and who were looking for the Messiah, and to whom it would be good news and glad tidings to hear of his coming, Zec 9:9; and rejoice in the Lord your God; not in any creature or creature enjoyment, but in the Lord.
This site's exposition
Do not be afraid, O land
on Joel 2:21-24
The words "Do not be afraid, O land" turn the address from the people to the land itself. Verse 23 promises "both autumn and spring rains", the rain for sowing and the rain for ripening together. "The threshing floors will be full of grain" answers the losses of 1:10.
This site's exposition
Be glad, O children of Zion
The children of Zion are told to be glad and rejoice, for the autumn and spring rains are given as before. John Wesley explains the autumn rain as softening the ground for sowing and the spring rain as ripening the crop. Some older versions read a teacher of righteousness here.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 22 onwards) Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things. Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
The former rain - The autumn rain which is needful to mellow the earth and fit it to receive the corn. The latter rain - Needful to bring forward and ripen the fruits, accounted the latter rain because these husbandmen and vine-dressers reckoned from seed time to spring and harvest. The first month - That is, our March.
But others understand it of any prophet that instructs unto righteousness, and some of Hezekiah particularly, others of Isaiah. Note, It is a good sign that God has mercy in store for a people when he sends them teachers of righteousness, pastors after his own heart.
): Be glad and rejoice, O land! and all the inhabitants of it. Times of plenty are commonly times of joy; yet the favour of God puts gladness into the heart more than those who have corn, and wine, and oil increase.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
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,
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Be glad then and rejoice in the Lord your God - All things had been restored for their sakes; they were to rejoice, not chiefly in these things, but in God; nor only in God, but in the Lord their God. “For He hath given you the former rain moderately.” The word rendered “moderately” should be rendered “unto righteosness;” the word often as it occurs never having any sense but that of “righteousness;” whether of God or man.
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.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The Margin, "a teacher of righteousness," is wrong. For the same Hebrew word is translated "former rain" in the next sentence, and cannot therefore be differently translated here.
The former rain moderately - המורה לצדקה hammoreh litsedakah, “the former rain in righteousness,” that is, in due time and in just proportion. This rain fell after autumn, the other in spring. See Hos 6:3. In the first month - בראשון barishon, “as aforetime.” So Bp. Newcome. In the month Nisan. - Syriac.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְנֵ֣י | uvenei | and O people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| צִיּ֗וֹן | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| גִּ֤ילוּ | gilu | be glad | H1523 → | |
| וְשִׂמְחוּ֙ | vesimchu | and rejoice | H8055 → | |
| בַּיהוָ֣ה | bayahweh | in Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נָתַ֥ן | natan | he has given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | to you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמּוֹרֶ֖ה | hamoreh | the early rain | H4175 → | |
| לִצְדָקָ֑ה | litzdakah | for righteousness | H6666 → | |
| וַיּ֣וֹרֶד | vaiyored | and he has sent down | H3381 → | |
| לָכֶ֗ם | lakhem | for you | ||
| גֶּ֛שֶׁם | geshem | rain | H1653 → | |
| מוֹרֶ֥ה | moreh | early rain | H4175 → | |
| וּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ | umalkoosh | and spring rain | H4456 → | |
| בָּרִאשֽׁוֹן׃ | barishon | in the first [month] | H7223 → |
וּבְנֵ֣יand O people of
uveneiH1121 →4930 times
צִיּ֗וֹןZion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
גִּ֤ילוּbe glad
giluH1523 →
וְשִׂמְחוּ֙and rejoice
vesimchuH8055 →
בַּיהוָ֣הin Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נָתַ֥ןhe has given
natanH5414 →2011 times
לָכֶ֛םto you
lakhem
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמּוֹרֶ֖הthe early rain
hamorehH4175 →
לִצְדָקָ֑הfor righteousness
litzdakahH6666 →
וַיּ֣וֹרֶדand he has sent down
vaiyoredH3381 →
לָכֶ֗םfor you
lakhem
גֶּ֛שֶׁםrain
geshemH1653 →
מוֹרֶ֥הearly rain
morehH4175 →
וּמַלְק֖וֹשׁand spring rain
umalkooshH4456 →
בָּרִאשֽׁוֹן׃in the first [month]
barishonH7223 →
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
Philippians 4:4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Rejoice at all times.
- Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, persistent in prayer.
- James 1:2–4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
- Philippians 3:1
Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.
- Matthew 5:12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Through
Hosea 6:3So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 24:7
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their…
- Hosea 14:5
I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
- Jeremiah 24:7
Through
Deuteronomy 11:14then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:12
The LORD will open the heavens, His abundant storehouse, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but borrow…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 28:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies19
On this chapter
About Joel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.