Joel 2:3 
Context| NET © | Like fire they devour everything in their path; 1 a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden 2 before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them! 3 |
| NIV © | Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste—nothing escapes them. |
| NASB © | A fire consumes before them And behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. |
| NLT © | Fire burns in front of them and follows them in every direction! Ahead of them the land lies as fair as the Garden of Eden in all its beauty. Behind them is nothing but desolation; not one thing escapes. |
| MSG © | Wildfire burns everything before this army and fire licks up everything in its wake. Before it arrives, the country is like the Garden of Eden. When it leaves, it is Death Valley. Nothing escapes unscathed. |
| 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. |
| NRSV © | Fire devours in front of them, and behind them a flame burns. Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, but after them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them. |
| NKJV © | A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. |
| KJV | |
| NASB © | |
| HEBREW | |
| LXXM | |
| NET © [draft] ITL | Like fire <0784> they devour <0398> everything in their path; a flame <03852> blazes <03857> behind <0310> them. The land <0776> looks like the Garden <01588> of Eden <05731> before <06440> them, but behind <0310> them there is only a desolate <08077> wilderness <04057> – for nothing <03808> escapes them!<06413> |
| NET © | Like fire they devour everything in their path; 1 a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden 2 before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness – for nothing escapes them! 3 |
| NET © Notes |
1 tn Heb “a fire devours before it.” 2 tn Heb “like the garden of Eden, the land is before them.” 3 tn Heb “and surely a survivor there is not for it.” The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is apparently עַם (’am, “people”) of v. 2, which seems to be a figurative way of referring to the locusts. K&D 26:191-92 thought that the antecedent of this pronoun was “land,” but the masculine gender of the pronoun does not support this. |
