The Meaning of Joel 2:3 Explained

Joel 2:3

KJV: A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

YLT: Before it consumed hath fire, And after it burn doth a flame, As the garden of Eden is the land before it, And after it a wilderness -- a desolation! And also an escape there hath not been to it,

Darby: A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth; the land is as a garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness: yea, and nothing escapeth them.

ASV: A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and none hath escaped them.

Discover Joel 2:3

CONTEXT: What is the Context of Joel 2:3?

MEANING: What does Joel 2:3 Mean?

WORDS: What do the individual words in Joel 2:3 mean?

RELATIONS: What do the major concepts mean in Joel 2:3?

What is the context of Joel 2:3?

KJV Reverse Interlinear

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land [is] as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

What does Joel 2:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This huge army advanced like a forest fire, consuming everything in its path (cf. Joel 1:19). Before the devastation conditions were idyllic, but after it there was nothing but a scorched-earth wilderness. Nothing escaped the advancing judgment (cf. Exodus 10:5; Exodus 10:15).

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 2:3 mean?

Before them devours a fire and behind them burns A flame [is] like the Garden of Eden the land before them and behind them a wilderness desolate and surely escape nothing shall them

לְפָנָיו֙ אָ֣כְלָה אֵ֔שׁ וְאַחֲרָ֖יו תְּלַהֵ֣ט לֶֽהָבָ֑ה כְּגַן־ עֵ֨דֶן הָאָ֜רֶץ לְפָנָ֗יו וְאַֽחֲרָיו֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר שְׁמָמָ֔ה וְגַם־ פְּלֵיטָ֖ה לֹא־ הָ֥יְתָה לּֽוֹ

לְפָנָיו֙	Before them
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular Root: לִפְנֵי Sense: face.
אָ֣כְלָה	devours
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular Root: אָכַל Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
אֵ֔שׁ	a fire
Parse: Noun, common singular Root: אֵשׁ Sense: fire.
וְאַחֲרָ֖יו	and behind them
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular Root: אַחַר Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
תְּלַהֵ֣ט	burns
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect, third person feminine singular Root: לָהַט Sense: to burn, blaze, scorch, kindle, blaze up, flame.
לֶֽהָבָ֑ה	A flame
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: לֶהָבָה Sense: flame.
כְּגַן־	[is] like the Garden
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, common singular construct Root: גַּן Sense: garden, enclosure.
עֵ֨דֶן	of Eden
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular Root: עֵדֶן Sense: the first habitat of man after the creation; site unknown.
הָאָ֜רֶץ	the land
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular Root: אֶרֶץ Sense: land, earth.
לְפָנָ֗יו	before them
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct, third person masculine singular Root: לִפְנֵי Sense: face.
וְאַֽחֲרָיו֙	and behind them
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition, third person masculine singular Root: אַחַר Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
מִדְבַּ֣ר	a wilderness
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct Root: מִדְבָּר Sense: wilderness.
שְׁמָמָ֔ה	desolate
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: שְׁמָמָה Sense: devastation, waste, desolation.
וְגַם־	and surely
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Conjunction Root: גַּם Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
פְּלֵיטָ֖ה	escape
Parse: Noun, feminine singular Root: פְּלֵיטָה Sense: escape, deliverance.
לֹא־	nothing
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle Root: הֲלֹא Sense: not, no.

What are the major concepts related to Joel 2:3?

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Similar Scriptures for Joel 2:3

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