Joel 2:3 Parallel Translations

In front of this army a fire burns. Behind it flames are blazing. In front of it the land is like the garden of Eden. Behind it the land is like a barren desert. Nothing escapes it!(GOD'S WORD®)

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.

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.

BBE:

Before them fire sends destruction, and after them flame is burning: the land is like the garden of Eden before them, and after them an unpeopled waste; truly, nothing has been kept safe from them.

DBY:

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.

ERV:

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.

JPS:

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

WBS:

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; and nothing shall escape them.

WEB:

A fire devours before them, and behind them, a flame burns. The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them, a desolate wilderness. Yes, and no one has escaped 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,

Joel 2:3 Cross References

XREF:

Exodus 10:5 'They shall cover the surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped-- what is left to you from the hail-- and they will eat every tree which sprouts for you out of the field.

Exodus 10:15 For they covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every plant of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Thus nothing green was left on tree or plant of the field through all the land of Egypt.

Psalm 97:3 Fire goes before Him And burns up His adversaries round about.

Psalm 105:34 He spoke, and locusts came, And young locusts, even without number,

Psalm 105:35 And ate up all vegetation in their land, And ate up the fruit of their ground.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burns like a fire; It consumes briars and thorns; It even sets the thickets of the forest aflame And they roll upward in a column of smoke.

Isaiah 9:19 By the fury of the LORD of hosts the land is burned up, And the people are like fuel for the fire; No man spares his brother.

Isaiah 51:3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.

Ezekiel 36:35 "They will say, 'This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.'

Zechariah 7:14 "but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate." (NASB ©1995)

Commentaries and Concordances

GSB:

2:3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land [is] as the garden of {d} Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
(d) The enemy destroyed our plentiful country, wherever he went.

WES:

2:3 A fire - The Chaldeans, as a fire shall utterly consume all things. Behind them - What is left behind is as burnt with a flame. As Eden - Fruitful and pleasant.

MHC:

2:1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The striking description which follows, shows what would attend the devastations of locusts, but may also describe the effects from the ravaging of the land by the Chaldeans. If the alarm of temporal judgments is given to offending nations, how much more should sinners be warned to seek deliverance from the wrath to come! Our business therefore on earth must especially be, to secure an interest in our Lord Jesus Christ; and we should seek to be weaned from objects which will soon be torn from all who now make idols of them. There must be outward expressions of sorrow and shame, fasting, weeping, and mourning; tears for trouble must be turned into tears for the sin that caused it. But rending the garments would be vain, except their hearts were rent by abasement and self-abhorrence; by sorrow for their sins, and separation from them. There is no question but that if we truly repent of our sins, God will forgive them; but whether he will remove affliction is not promised, yet the probability of it should encourage us to repent.

CONC:

Behind Blazes Blazeth Burn Burneth Burning Burns Consumed Consumes Desert Desolate Desolation Destruction Devoureth Devours Eden Escape Escaped Escapes Escapeth Fire Flame Garden Kept None Nothing Safe Sends Truly Unpeopled Waste Wilderness Yea Yes

Blazes Burn Burneth Burning Burns Consumed Consumes Desert Desolate Desolation Destruction Devoureth Devours Eden Escape Escaped Escapes Escapeth Fire Flame Garden Kept Land Safe Sends Unpeopled Waste Wilderness

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GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved.

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