translation_id: net-engnet

book_id: JOL

label: NET translator note

text: Heb “the word of the Lord .”


text: Heb “give ear.”


text: Heb “days.” The term “days” functions here as a synecdoche for one’s lifespan.


text: Heb “days.”


text: Heb “fathers.”


text: Heb “sons.” This word occurs several times in this verse.


text: Heb “eaten.” This verb is repeated three times in v. 4 to emphasize the total devastation of the crops by this locust invasion.


text: The four Hebrew terms used in this verse are of uncertain meaning. English translations show a great deal of variation in dealing with these: (1) For ָגּזָם ( gazam ) KJV has “palmerworm,” NEB “locust,” NAB “cutter”, NASB “gnawing locust,” NIV “locust swarm,” NKJV “chewing locust,” NRSV, NLT “cutting locust(s),” NIrV “giant locusts”; (2) for אַרְבֶּה (’ arbeh ) KJV has “locust,” NEB “swarm,” NAB “locust swarm,” NASB, NKJV, NRSV, NLT “swarming locust(s),” NIV “great locusts,” NIrV “common locusts”; (3) for יֶלֶק ( yeleq ) KJV has “cankerworm,” NEB “hopper,” NAB “grasshopper,” NASB “creeping locust,” NIV, NIrV “young locusts,” NKJV “crawling locust,” NRSV, NLT “hopping locust(s)”; (4) for חָסִיל ( khasil ) KJV has “caterpillar,” NEB “grub,” NAB “devourer,” NASB, NLT “stripping locust(s),” NIV, NIrV “other locusts,” NKJV “consuming locust,” NRSV “destroying locust.” It is debated whether the Hebrew terms describe different species of locusts or similar insects or different developmental stages of the same species, or are virtual synonyms. While the last seems more likely, given the uncertainty over their exact meaning, the present translation has transliterated the Hebrew terms in combination with the word “locust.” sn Four different words for “locust” are used in this verse. Whether these words represent different life-stages of the locusts, or whether virtual synonyms are being used to underscore the severity of damage caused by the relentless waves of locust invasion, is not entirely certain. The latter seems more likely. Many interpreters have understood the locust plagues described here to be symbolic of invading armies that will devastate the land, but the symbolism could also work the other way, with real plagues of locusts described in the following verses as an invading army.


text: Heb “over the sweet wine, because it.” Cf. KJV, NIV, TEV, NLT “new wine.”


text: Heb “cut off” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV); NAB “will be withheld.”


text: Heb “your mouth.” This is a synecdoche of part (the mouth) for whole (the person).


text: Heb “has come up against.”


text: Heb “my.”


text: Heb “it.” Throughout vv. 6-7 the Hebrew uses singular forms to describe the locust swarm, but the translation uses plural forms because several details of the text make more sense in English as if they are describing the appearance and effects of individual locusts.


text: Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.


text: Or “a young woman” (TEV, CEV). See the note on the phrase “husband-to-be” in the next line.


text: Heb “over the death of.” The term “lamenting” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for smoothness.


text: Heb “house.” So also in vv. 13, 14, 16 .


text: Heb “grain offering and drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord ,”


text: Heb “the field has been utterly destroyed.” The term “field,” a collective singular for “fields,” is a metonymy for crops produced by the fields.


text: Joel uses intentionally alliterative language in the phrases שֻׁדַּד שָׂדֶה ( shuddad sadeh , “the field is destroyed”) and אֲבְלָה אֲדָמָה (’ avlah ’ adamah , “the ground is in mourning”).


text: Heb “embarrassed”; or “be ashamed.”


text: This Hebrew word וְתַפּוּחַ ( vÿtappuakh ) probably refers to the apple tree (so most English versions), but other suggestions that scholars have offered include the apricot, citron, or quince.


text: These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “the sons of man.”


text: Heb “put on.” There is no object present in the Hebrew text, but many translations assume “sackcloth” to be the understood object of the verb “put on.” Its absence in the Hebrew text of v. 13 is probably due to metrical considerations. The meter here + 3, and that has probably influenced the prophet’s choice of words.


text: Heb “for grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God.”


text: Heb “consecrate a fast” (so NASB).


text: Heb “Alas for the day!”


text: There is a wordplay in Hebrew here with the word used for “destruction” ( שׁוֹד , shod ) and the term used for God ( שַׁדַּי , shadday ). The exact meaning of “Shaddai” in the OT is somewhat uncertain, although the ancient versions and many modern English versions tend to translate it as “Almighty” (e.g., Greek παντοκράτωρ [ pantokratwr ], Latin omnipotens ). Here it might be rendered “Destroyer,” with the thought being that “destruction will come from the Divine Destroyer,” which should not be misunderstood as a reference to the destroying angel. The name “Shaddai” (outside Genesis and without the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles ( Num 24:4, 16 ) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons ( Ruth 1:20-21 ). In Ps 68:14 , Isa 13:6 , and the present passage, Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.


text: Heb “Has not the food been cut off right before our eyes?” This rhetorical question expects an affirmative answer; the question has been translated as an affirmation for the sake of clarity and emphasis.


text: Heb “joy and gladness from the house of our God?” Verse 16 b is a continuation of the rhetorical question begun in v. 16 a, but has been translated as an affirmative statement to make the meaning clear. The words “There is no longer any” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for clarity.


text: Heb “seed.” The phrase “the grains of” does not appear in the Hebrew, but has been supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity and smoothness.


text: ) reads “the heifers decay in [their] s[talls].” LXX reads “the heifers leap in their stalls.” These two lines of v. 17 comprise only four words in the Hebrew; three of the four are found only here in the OT. The translation and meaning are rather uncertain. A number of English versions render the word translated “shovels” as “clods,” referring to lumps of soil (e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).


text: Heb “how the cattle groan!”


text: Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ ( bukh , “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3 ).


text: The phrase “for help” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.


text: Heb “consumed.” This entire line is restated at the end of v. 20 .


text: Heb “the pastures of the wilderness.”


text: Heb “beasts of the field.”


text: Heb “long for you.” Animals of course do not have religious sensibilities as such; they do not in any literal sense long for Yahweh. Rather, the language here is figurative (metonymy of cause for effect). The animals long for food and water (so BDB 788 s.v. עָרַג ), the ultimate source of which is Yahweh.


text: Heb “sources of water.”


text: Heb “consumed.”