The Meaning of Joel 2:11 Explained

Joel 2:11

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?

YLT: And Jehovah hath given forth His voice before His force, For very great is His camp, For mighty is the doer of His word, For great is the day of Jehovah -- very fearful, And who doth bear it?

Darby: And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for strong is he that executeth his word: for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can bear it?

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 Reverse Interlinear

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? 

What does Joel 2:11 Mean?

Study Notes

his army
To Joel 2:10 inclusive the invading army is described; at Joel 2:11 Jehovah's army. This "army" is described, Revelation 19:11-18 . The call to repentance is based upon the Lord's promise of deliverance, Joel 2:12-17 . At verses Joel 2:18-20 we have the deliverance ( Joel 2:20 ); see "Armageddon," , and kingdom blessing in verses Joel 2:21-27 . Joel 2:28-32 give the outpouring of the Spirit, and Joel 2:29-32 the cosmical signs preceding the day of the Lord. See Scofield " Revelation 19:11 ".
kings Times of the Gentiles Revelation 16:19 ; Luke 21:24 .
world "oikoumene" = inhabited earth. (See Scofield " Luke 2:1 ") .

Verse Meaning

It now becomes clear that Yahweh is leading this army against Jerusalem. Normally the Lord fought for His people, but here Joel saw Him leading an army against them. He is the one who is directing the soldiers with His voice. His host is both numerous and strong. The day of this attack, the day of the Lord, is great and awesome, and no one can withstand it (cf. Malachi 3:2; Malachi 4:5).
Some interpreters regard the description of the locust plague in Joel 2:1-11 as simply another description of the same locust plague as the one described in chapter1 , or another locust plague in Israel"s past history. Others take this description as an allegory picturing Israel"s traditional enemies. Still others view it as picturing the eschatological day of the Lord in which the Lord Himself will come with His heavenly army in holy war against evil. [1] Many amillennialists take this view. The view that seems best to me, and to many other commentators, is that it is a metaphor based on the past locust plague. Joel used the past locust invasion as a harbinger of an impending human invasion by an undesignated foreign foe.

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 2:11 mean?

Yahweh gives voice before His army for great very His camp His strong [is] [the One] who executes His word For [is] great the day of Yahweh and terrible very and who can endure it
וַֽיהוָ֗ה נָתַ֤ן קוֹלוֹ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י חֵיל֔וֹ כִּ֣י רַ֤ב מְאֹד֙ מַחֲנֵ֔הוּ עָצ֖וּם עֹשֵׂ֣ה דְבָר֑וֹ כִּֽי־ גָד֧וֹל יוֹם־ יְהוָ֛ה וְנוֹרָ֥א מְאֹ֖ד וּמִ֥י יְכִילֶֽנּוּ

וַֽיהוָ֗ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
נָתַ֤ן  gives 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
קוֹלוֹ֙  voice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
לִפְנֵ֣י  before 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
חֵיל֔וֹ  His  army 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֵיל  
Sense: rampart, fortress, wall.
רַ֤ב  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רַב 
Sense: much, many, great.
מְאֹד֙  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
מַחֲנֵ֔הוּ  His  camp  His 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מַחֲנֶה  
Sense: encampment, camp.
עָצ֖וּם  strong  [is] 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: עָצוּם  
Sense: mighty, vast, numerous.
עֹשֵׂ֣ה  [the  One]  who  executes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
דְבָר֑וֹ  His  word 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבָר  
Sense: speech, word, speaking, thing.
גָד֧וֹל  [is]  great 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: גָּבֹול 
Sense: great.
יוֹם־  the  day  of 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
יְהוָ֛ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
וְנוֹרָ֥א  and  terrible 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָרֵא 
Sense: to fear, revere, be afraid.
מְאֹ֖ד  very 
Parse: Adverb
Root: מְאֹד  
Sense: exceedingly, much subst.
וּמִ֥י  and  who 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Interrogative
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
יְכִילֶֽנּוּ  can  endure  it 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: כּוּל  
Sense: to seize, contain, measure.