Hasten and come: The Hebrew verb rendered Hasten occurs only here in the Bible. Some scholars believe it means “help someone” (see the GNT footnote); for example, New English Bible renders this line as “Rally to each other’s help” (similarly Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Others understand it to mean “assemble” (so King James Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Luther). Translators are free to choose any of these meanings here, but the sense of hurrying is probably best here (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, Segond).
All you nations round about are the nations surrounding Judah. They are the neighboring nations, but this expression can include nations farther away, such as Persia and other world powers. Some languages may prefer to begin the verse with this vocative phrase for naturalness.
Gather yourselves there does not specify where the nations are to gather. The next verse shows that it is “the valley of Jehoshaphat,” the valley mentioned in verse 2. Good News Translation follows English style by making this information explicit here, saying “and gather in the valley” (similarly Bible en français courant). Some languages may prefer to be even more explicit by saying “and gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat.” However, it is not clear whether the adverb there belongs at the end of this line or at the beginning of the next line. The punctuation marks added to the Hebrew text by the Masoretes place it with the next line, so that it refers to the place where God is asked to send his army. This decision is followed by the Vulgate, the Peshitta, King James Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Einheitsübersetzung, and Luther. It seems more likely to connect there with the place where the nations are to gather, using it with this clause, as in the Septuagint, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible.
Bring down thy warriors, O LORD: This appears to be a prayer to God spoken by the prophet or else by the people. Bring down is better rendered “Send down” (Good News Translation) in English. The Hebrew word for warriors is the same word translated “mighty men” in verse 9 and “warrior” in verse 10. Here it seems to refer to Yahweh’s army of angels, which is in view in the common Hebrew expression rendered “LORD of hosts [or, armies].” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (1982) makes this interpretation explicit here by rendering this line and the previous one as “(And when they are gathered there, Lord, then cause your mighty angels to attack them!)” Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch make explicit the purpose of sending Yahweh’s army: “to attack them.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch uses parentheses to indicate that these words are no longer part of the Yahweh’s message to the nations, while Good News Translation sets off the last line as a separate stanza for the same reason. The break in Yahweh’s speech may also be marked by adding quotation marks at the end of the third line of this verse to close it and by inserting a quote frame at the beginning of verse 12 to reopen it. However, in any translation this change should also be made clear by the use of pronouns or similar devices.
New English Bible emends the Hebrew text to read “and let the coward show himself brave” (similarly Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), but there is no textual evidence to support this change, as noted in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project.
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 .