The Lord utters His voice before His army; His camp is indeed very great, For mighty is one who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh thunders his voice before his army; for his forces are very great; for he is strong who obeys his command; for the day of Yahweh is great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
- 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?
- BSB The LORD raises His voice in the presence of His army. Indeed, His camp is very large, for mighty are those who obey His command. For the Day of the LORD is great and very dreadful. Who can endure it?
- NKJV The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
- NLT The Lord is at the head of the column. He leads them with a shout. This is his mighty army, and they follow his orders. The day of the Lord is an awesome, terrible thing. Who can possibly survive?
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
Yahweh thunders at the head of His vast army, for the day of Yahweh is great and terrifying. The question is asked: who can endure it?
Overview
Joel reveals that the dreadful host is God's own army, led by His commanding voice. This unveils the true nature of the judgment: it is the Lord himself who acts. The closing question, 'who can endure it?', exposes human helplessness before God's wrath and sets the stage for the urgent call to repentance that follows, the only refuge from the day of Yahweh.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Mal 3:2“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap;
- Nah 1:6Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
- Ps 46:6The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.
- Rev 18:8Therefore in one day her plagues will come: death, mourning, and famine; and she will be utterly burned with fire; for the Lord God who has judged her is strong.
- Jer 30:7Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
- Rev 6:17for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
- Joel 3:16Yahweh will roar from Zion, and thunder from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth will shake; but Yahweh will be a refuge to his people, and a stronghold to the children of Israel.
- Num 24:23He took up his parable, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this?
- Jer 50:34Their Redeemer is strong: Yahweh of Armies is his name. He will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
- Isa 42:13Yahweh will go out like a mighty man. He will stir up zeal like a man of war. He will raise a war cry. Yes, he will shout aloud. He will triumph over his enemies.
- Isa 13:4The noise of a multitude is in the mountains, as of a great people; the noise of an uproar of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Armies is mustering the army for the battle.
- Joel 1:15Alas for the day! For the day of Yahweh is at hand, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Amos 5:20Won’t the day of Yahweh be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
- Zeph 1:14–15The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly.
- Joel 2:31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Jer 25:30“Therefore prophesy you against them all these words, and tell them, “‘Yahweh will roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he will mightily roar against his fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
- Isa 7:18It will happen in that day that Yahweh will whistle for the fly that is in the uttermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria.
- Amos 5:18“Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light.
- Ezek 22:14Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.
- 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.
- Amos 1:2He said: “Yahweh will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither.”
- 2 Sam 22:14–15Yahweh thundered from heaven. The Most High uttered his voice.
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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 2:11 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
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