The Meaning of Joel 2:1 Explained

Joel 2:1

KJV: Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

YLT: Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, And shout ye in My holy hill, Tremble do all inhabitants of the earth, For coming is the day of Jehovah, for it is near!

Darby: Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is at hand;

ASV: Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of Jehovah cometh, for it is nigh at hand;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Blow  ye the trumpet  in Zion,  and sound an alarm  in my holy  mountain:  let all the inhabitants  of the land  tremble:  for the day  of the LORD  cometh,  for [it is] nigh at hand; 

What does Joel 2:1 Mean?

Context Summary

Joel 2:1-11 - A Summons To Penitence
We know nothing of Joel beyond this book. He was content to be God's mouthpiece and remain unknown. His message was one of unparalleled woe. The memory of God's loving kindness ought to have kept His people faithful and loyal, but since grace and love had failed to affect them awful judgments were announced. A small insect, the locust, was to prostrate man's boasted power. The four kinds of locusts here described and which doubtless devastated the country, were also symbols of the four world-empires, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, which were to lay waste the Holy Land. Such judgments call for acts of repentance, such as fasting, humiliation, and intercession. There are days in national experience when it becomes us to gird ourselves and lament. The ministers and elders of the Church should lead the way. Where there has been infidelity to the great Lover of souls, when the visible Church or the individual member has turned from Christ to the wanton world, then joy withers away, Joel 1:12, spiritual worship ceases, Joel 1:9, and there can be neither peace nor safety until there has been repentance and return. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joel 2

1  He shows unto Zion the terribleness of God's judgment
12  He exhorts to repentance;
15  prescribes a fast;
18  promises a blessing thereon
21  He comforts Zion with present,
28  and future blessings

What do the individual words in Joel 2:1 mean?

Blow the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in mountain My holy let tremble all the inhabitants of the land for is coming the day of Yahweh for it is at hand
תִּקְע֨וּ שׁוֹפָ֜ר בְּצִיּ֗וֹן וְהָרִ֙יעוּ֙ ! בְּהַ֣ר קָדְשִׁ֔י יִרְגְּז֕וּ כֹּ֖ל יֹשְׁבֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ כִּֽי־ בָ֥א יוֹם־ יְהוָ֖ה כִּ֥י קָרֽוֹב

תִּקְע֨וּ  Blow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: תֹּוקְעִים 
Sense: to blow, clap, strike, sound, thrust, give a blow, blast.
שׁוֹפָ֜ר  the  trumpet 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁופָר  
Sense: horn, ram’s horn.
בְּצִיּ֗וֹן  in  Zion 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: צִיּׄון  
Sense: another name for Jerusalem especially in the prophetic books.
וְהָרִ֙יעוּ֙  and  sound  an  alarm 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: רוּעַ  
Sense: to shout, raise a sound, cry out, give a blast.
! בְּהַ֣ר  in  mountain 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
קָדְשִׁ֔י  My  holy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
יִרְגְּז֕וּ  let  tremble 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: רָגַז  
Sense: tremble, quake, rage, quiver, be agitated, be excited, be perturbed.
יֹשְׁבֵ֣י  the  inhabitants 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
הָאָ֑רֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
בָ֥א  is  coming 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
יוֹם־  the  day 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יְהוָ֖ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
קָרֽוֹב  it  is  at  hand 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָרֹוב  
Sense: near.