Lament like a virgin girded with sackcloth: The Hebrew word for Lament (Good News Translation “Cry,” New English Bible “Wail”) is another in the series of verbs that refer to mourning (see the introductory comments on verses 5-14). The prophet uses a variety of verbs for poetic effect when saying essentially the same thing. The Hebrew does not expressly state who should lament here. The verb is a feminine singular imperative, so the prophet may be addressing “the daughter of Jerusalem” or “the daughter of Zion.” These are poetic metaphors that were commonly used to refer to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as if the city were a woman. Therefore Good News Translation makes explicit reference to “you people” as the addressees. Bijbel in Gewone Taal is more specific with “my people.” The feminine form of the verb also fits the following simile like a virgin…, and seems to confirm the idea that “the daughter of Jerusalem/Zion” is what the prophet had in mind.

Sackcloth was worn as a sign of mourning. It was usually made from the hair of goats, which was black, thus symbolizing mourning by both the coarse texture and the color of the cloth. This cloth was usually tied (girded) around the hips. Good News Translation makes explicit the significance of the custom by translating girded with sackcloth as “who mourns the death.” In receptor cultures that are familiar with this or similar mourning customs, translators should not feel tempted to follow Good News Translation here, since this would certainly result in a loss of impact. Bijbel in Gewone Taal uses the western custom of “going in black clothes.” Some translators may want to avoid this approach as a form of transculturation.

For the bridegroom of her youth is literally “for the husband of her youth” (New Revised Standard Version). Of her youth renders a Hebrew idiom meaning “when she was young.” The prophet tells his people to lament like a young virgin who has lost her husband. It may seem strange that a virgin should mourn for her “husband.” Under Hebrew law, when a woman was engaged to a man, she was regarded in some respects as his wife (see Deut 22.23-24). In this case the engagement had been completed but not the marriage. Girded with sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth, when used in this context with virgin, describes the sorrow of a young girl who already is the equivalent of a widow, yet a virgin at the same time, because her bridegroom died. She will never experience the joy of bearing a child for her husband. In many cultures similar laws and traditions are found. In the case of an engagement the future husband may have to pay his in-laws part of the bride price, as a result of which she becomes his “bride.” There may be a special term to indicate the new status of the girl. The term “husband” may not be applicable, since the wedding has not yet taken place. There is definitely no need to use a technical term for “virgin,” if that exists in the receptor language, since the virginity of the girl is not in focus. Good News Translation provides a helpful model for this verse, saying “Cry, you people, like a young woman who mourns the death of the man she was going to marry.” It is also acceptable to interpret the virgin in the context of the bridegroom of her youth as a young bride who lost her husband just after they got married (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Bijbel in Gewone Taal).

Quoted with permission from de Blois, Kees & Dorn, Louis. A Handbook on Joel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .