Joel 2:6

People ¹  writhe in fear when they see them. ²  All of their faces turn pale with fright. ³ 

Ps 119:83; Isa 13:8; Jer 8:21; Jer 30:6; La 4:8; Na 2:10

¹ tn Or “nations.”

² tn Heb “before it.”

³ tn Heb “all faces gather beauty”; or “all faces gather a glow.” The Hebrew word פָּארוּר (pa’rur) is found in the OT only here and in Nah 2:11. Its meaning is very uncertain. Some scholars associate it with a root that signifies “glowing”; hence “all faces gather a glow of dread.” Others associate the word with פָּרוּר (parur, “pot”); hence “all faces gather blackness.” Still others take the root to signify “beauty”; hence “all faces gather in their beauty” in the sense of growing pale due to fear. This is the view assumed here.