For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.
Parallel translations
- WEB For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
- KJV For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
- BSB For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
- NASB For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the jaws of a lioness.
- NLT A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joel describes the locusts as a vast, powerful nation with lion-like teeth. The imagery stresses their irresistible, devouring force.
Overview
The locust swarm is portrayed as an innumerable invading nation whose destructive power is likened to a lion's fangs. This military and predatory language may also foreshadow literal armies God would use in judgment. By calling the land 'my land,' God shows the devastation falls on His own covenant inheritance, underscoring that He himself directs this discipline against His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Joel 2:25I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you.
- Rev 9:7–10The shapes of the locusts were like horses prepared for war. On their heads were something like golden crowns, and their faces were like people’s faces.
- Prov 30:14There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, and their jaws like knives, to devour the poor from the earth, and the needy from among men.
- Joel 2:2–11A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
- Isa 8:8It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through; it will reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel.
- Prov 30:25–27the ants are not a strong people, yet they provide their food in the summer.
- Isa 32:13Thorns and briers will come up on my people’s land; yes, on all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
- Ps 107:34and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
- Hos 9:3They won’t dwell in Yahweh’s land; but Ephraim will return to Egypt, and they will eat unclean food in Assyria.
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Christ at the center
The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.
How Joel 1:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.