SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2020 – Page 2

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 3:9

3:9a Proclaim this among the nations:

Announce (plur.) this to the nations:
-or-
Shout (plur.) to the people of the ⌊foreign⌋ nations:

3:9b “Prepare for war;

“Prepare (plur.) ⌊yourselves⌋ for ⌊holy⌋ war!
-or-
“Get ready (plur.) to fight ⌊for your gods⌋ !

3:9c rouse the mighty men;

Summon/Call (plur.) ⌊your⌋ warriors!
-or-
Assemble/Muster (plur.) ⌊all⌋ ⌊your⌋ soldiers!

3:9d let all the men of war advance and attack!

Order (plur.) all your troops/fighters to prepare for battle! Give (plur.) the command to attack!
-or-
Soldiers/Men, advance! March (plur.) forward!

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 1:8

1:8a Wail like a virgin dressed in sackcloth,

Grieve (plur.) like a virgin who dresses in sackcloth/mourning
-or-
Mourn (plur.) ⌊loudly/bitterly⌋ like a maiden dressed in mourning/funeral clothes
-or-
Wail (plur.), just as a girl wears mourning/black clothes

1:8b grieving for the husband of her youth.

and weeps because the man to whom she was engaged has died.
-or-
who weeps ⌊loudly/bitterly⌋ over the loss/death of her fiancé.
-or-
and cries/wails when the man whom she was marrying dies.

1:8a–b (reordered)

Shed tears like a girl/maiden whose fiancé dies, ⌊a girl/maiden⌋ who shows her grief by putting on dark/black clothing.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2:20

2:20a The northern army I will drive away from you,

“I will send/push the northern army/multitude far away from you (plur.),
-or-
“I will cause/force the invaders from the north to go/flee far from you (plur.).

2:20b banishing it to a barren and desolate land,

driving/chasing it into a very dry land where nothing grows.
-or-
I will force them away into a dry and empty desert.

2:20c its front ranks into the Eastern Sea,

Its front/head will die/perish in the Dead Sea,
-or-
The ones in the front I will push to their deaths in the eastern sea.
-or-
I will cause those in front to be driven away to the eastern sea

2:20d and its rear guard into the Western Sea.

and its back/rear ⌊will die/perish⌋ in the Mediterranean Sea.
-or-
The ones in the rear ⌊I will push⌋ into the western sea ⌊where they will drown⌋ .
-or-
and those in the back, to the western sea.

2:20e And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend.

⌊Their dead bodies⌋ will stink very badly. That smell will spread ⌊over the land⌋ .”
-or-

⌊Everyone/You (plur.) ⌋ will smell the terrible stink ⌊of their rotting corpses⌋ .”

2:20f For He has done great things.

Great are the deeds ⌊of Yahweh⌋ !
-or-
⌊Yahweh⌋ has done amazing/wonderful things!

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 3:20

3:20a But Judah will be inhabited forever,

“Judah will always have inhabitants,
-or-
“There will always be people living in ⌊the land/country⌋ of Judah.

3:20b and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

and Jerusalem ⌊will always have residents⌋ , generation after generation.
-or-

⌊People will live/dwell⌋ in ⌊the city of⌋ Jerusalem for all future times.

3:20a–b (combined)

⌊But⌋ people will live in Judah and Jerusalem for all time to come.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 1:19

1:19a To You, O LORD, I call,

I pray to you (sing.), Yahweh, ⌊for help⌋ !
-or-
Yahweh, it is to you (sing.) that I appeal/cry!
-or-
O Yahweh, I call out to you (sing.) ⌊in distress⌋

1:19b for fire has consumed the open pastures

For a fire has consumed the meadows/pasture throughout the countryside.
-or-
Fire has destroyed the grasslands
-or-
because fire has burned all the grass in the bush

1:19c and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.

Its flames have burnt up all the trees.
-or-
and all the wooded areas.
-or-
and all the trees in the woods/forests.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2:31

2:31a The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood

The sun will become dark and the moon will appear ⌊red⌋ like blood
-or-
The sun will stop giving light and the moon will look as ⌊red as⌋ blood.

2:31b before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

before the day of Yahweh arrives/comes. It will be a magnificent and terrible/fearful day!
-or-
Then will be that greatest day, that awesome day, when I Yahweh ⌊act/judge⌋ !
-or-
After that, it will be the time when I, Yahweh, will do my great and terrible work/deed ⌊of judgment⌋ .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2:10

2:10a Before them the earth quakes;

Before ⌊this army⌋ the earth quakes,
-or-
As they arrive/advance, the land trembles ⌊with fear⌋.

2:10b the heavens tremble.

the sky shakes,
-or-
The skies shudder/shiver,

2:10c The sun and moon grow dark,

the sun and the moon grow/become dull/black,
-or-
the moon and sun darken,

2:10d and the stars lose their brightness.

and the stars stop shining/twinkling.
-or-
and the stars no longer give any light.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 3:10

3:10a Beat your plowshares into swords

Hammer/Pound (plur.) your plowshares into swords
-or-
Form/Forge (plur.) swords from your iron/metal plows.
-or-
Take your (plur.) iron digging tools and make fighting knives ⌊from them⌋ .

3:10b and your pruning hooks into spears.

and ⌊hammer/pound (plur.) ⌋ your pruning knives into spears.
-or-

⌊Form/Forge (plur.) ⌋ spears from your gardening knives.
-or-

⌊Take (plur.) ⌋ your trimming/vine knives and make (plur.) them into lances.

3:10c Let the weak say, ‘I am strong!’

You weak ones, each of you must say, ‘I am a great/mighty warrior!’
-or-
You weakling/coward, tell yourself that you are strong ⌊and able to fight⌋ !
-or-
Even the feeble/skinny men must think themselves mighty ⌊in battle⌋ .

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2020