Joel 2:7
in Joel 2They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks.
KJV
They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
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This verse in Joel 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They shall run like mighty men - They are on God’s message, and they linger not, “but rejoice to run their course” Psa 19:5. “The height of walls cannot hinder the charge of the mighty; they enter not by the gates but over the walls” , as of a city taken by assault. People can mount a wall few at a time; the locusts scale much more steadily, more compactly, more determinately, and irresistibly. The picture unites the countless multitude, condensed march, and entire security of the locust with the might of warriors.
This site's exposition
Before their face the people shall be much pained
on Joel 2:6-9
Before their face the people shall be much pained, all faces gather blackness, a description of terror that reads equally of a village facing locusts or of a village facing an army, which is the crux the commentators return to across the chapter. Verses 7 through 9 describe a discipline no ordinary insect swarm needs named for it, they shall not break their ranks, neither shall one thrust another, each marching in his own path, and older commentators from Jerome forward have taken the military precision as figurative language for the locusts' own uncanny orderliness rather than proof of a human army. They shall enter in at the windows like a thief closes the description on total, unstoppable penetration, no threshold able to keep the invader out.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(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.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
And see how necessary it is that those who are employed in any service for God should observe order, and keep ranks, should diligently go on in their own work and stand in one another's way. They are very swift; they run like horsemen (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
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
They shall run like mighty men,.... Like men of war, in a hostile way, as soldiers run upon their enemy with undaunted courage and bravery.
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,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Like mighty men - like men of war (and as horsemen, Joe 2:4) - The prophet does not say they are such, but they resemble. They are locusts; but in their operations they are Like the above. They shall not break their ranks - See the account on Joe 2:2, from Dr. Shaw.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּגִבּוֹרִ֣ים | kegiborim | like warriors | H1368 → | 158 times |
| יְרֻצ֔וּן | yerutzun | they run ! | H7323 → | 103 times |
| כְּאַנְשֵׁ֥י | keanshei | like men of | H582 → | |
| מִלְחָמָ֖ה | milchamah | war | H4421 → | 320 times |
| יַעֲל֣וּ | yaalu | they go up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| חוֹמָ֑ה | chomah | a wall | H2346 → | |
| וְאִ֤ישׁ | veish | and each | H376 → | |
| בִּדְרָכָיו֙ | bidrakhav | on ways its | H1870 → | |
| יֵֽלֵכ֔וּן | yelekhun | they go ! | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְעַבְּט֖וּן | yeabetun | they exchange ! | H5670 → | |
| אֹרְחוֹתָֽם׃ | ʾorechotam | paths their | H734 → |
כְּגִבּוֹרִ֣יםlike warriors
kegiborimH1368 →158 times
יְרֻצ֔וּןthey run !
yerutzunH7323 →103 times
כְּאַנְשֵׁ֥יlike men of
keansheiH582 →
מִלְחָמָ֖הwar
milchamahH4421 →320 times
יַעֲל֣וּthey go up
yaaluH5927 →890 times
חוֹמָ֑הa wall
chomahH2346 →
וְאִ֤ישׁand each
veishH376 →
בִּדְרָכָיו֙on ways its
bidrakhavH1870 →
יֵֽלֵכ֔וּןthey go !
yelekhunH1980 →1546 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְעַבְּט֖וּןthey exchange !
yeabetunH5670 →
אֹרְחוֹתָֽם׃paths their
ʾorechotamH734 →
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
Joel 2:9They storm the city; they run along the wall; they climb into houses, entering through windows like thieves.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:21
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
- John 10:1
“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
- Jeremiah 9:21
Through
2 Samuel 1:23Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, were not divided in death. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
- Judges 14:18
Before sunset on the seventh day, the men of the city said to Samson: “What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?” So he said to them: “If you had…
- Jeremiah 4:13
Through
Proverbs 30:27the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;
it leads to
- Joel 2:25
I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.
- Joel 1:6–7
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
- Psalms 105:34
He spoke, and the locusts came— young locusts without number.
- Joel 2:7–11
They charge like mighty men; they scale the walls like men of war. Each one marches in formation, not swerving from the course.
- Joel 2:25
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); Jerome, Commentaries on the Twelve; Jerome, Commentary on Joel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.