2:14 Who knows?
Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, 1
and leave blessing in his wake 2 –
a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God! 3
2:16 Gather the people;
sanctify an assembly!
Gather the elders;
gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her private quarters. 4
2:19 The Lord responded 5 to his people,
“Look! I am about to restore your grain 6
as well as fresh wine and olive oil.
You will be fully satisfied. 7
I will never again make you an object of mockery among the nations.
1 tn Heb “turn” or “turn back.”
2 tn Heb “leave a blessing behind him.”
3 tn The phrase “for you to offer” does not appear in the Hebrew, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity.
4 sn Mosaic law allowed men recently married, or about to be married, to be exempt for a year from certain duties that were normally mandatory, such as military obligation (cf. Deut 20:7; 24:5). However, Joel pictures a time of such urgency that normal expectations must give way to higher requirements.
5 tn Heb “answered and said.”
6 tn Heb “Look! I am sending grain to you.” The participle used in the Hebrew text seems to suggest imminent action.
7 tc One of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXIIc) inserts “and you will eat” before “and you will be fully satisfied” (the reading of the MT, LXX).