Joel 2:6

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

At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale.

Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn pale.

Fear grips all the people; every face grows pale with fright.

At the sight of this army, the people panic, faces white with terror.

At their coming the people are bent with pain: all faces become red together.

Before them peoples are in anguish, all faces grow pale.

Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color.

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

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.