SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2020 – Page 5

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 1:6

1:6a For a nation has invaded My land,

An ⌊enemy⌋ race/people has entered my land,
-or-
A ⌊hostile/dangerous⌋ multitude/swarm ⌊of locusts⌋ has come into my country.

1:6b powerful and without number;

a great army, too many to count.
-or-

⌊They are like⌋ warriors, strong and very numerous.

1:6c its teeth are the teeth of a lion,

They have teeth as ⌊sharp/destructive as⌋ those of a lion.
-or-
Their teeth ⌊destroy/bite⌋ like the teeth of a lion do,

1:6d and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

⌊Yes,⌋ they have sharp/biting teeth like those of a female lion.
-or-
and they eat the crops like a female lion ⌊eats its/her prey⌋

© 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 2:18

Section 2:18–27

Yahweh answered his people

2:18a Then the LORD became jealous for His land,

Then Yahweh became zealous/eager ⌊to help⌋ his land,
-or-
At that time Yahweh strongly desired ⌊to protect/restore⌋ the land of his people,

2:18b and He spared His people.

and he showed compassion/mercy to his people.
-or-

⌊for⌋ he pitied his people, ⌊the people of Judah⌋ .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 3:18

Section 3:18–21

Yahweh will bless his people

3:18a And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine,

“On that day, the mountains will give/produce much wine,
-or-
⌊Yahweh says/said,⌋ “At that time, ⌊you (plur.) will receive/obtain⌋ plenty of fresh grape juice/wine ⌊from the vineyards/plantations⌋ in the mountains.

3:18b and the hills will flow with milk.

the hilly lands will give/produce lots of milk,
-or-

⌊You (plur.) will receive/obtain⌋ abundant milk ⌊from the herds/cattle⌋ in the hills.

3:18c All the streams of Judah will run with water,

and all the streams of Judah will have plenty of water.
-or-
The wadis in Judah will always be full of water.

3:18d and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD

A spring of water will flow/come from the house of Yahweh,
-or-
A spring will open in the temple where Yahweh is worshiped. Water will gush/flow out,

3:18e to water the Valley of Acacias.

and it will bring/give water to the valley where acacia trees grow.
-or-
watering/irrigating ⌊even⌋ the dry valley of acacia trees.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 1:17

1:17a The seeds lie shriveled beneath the clods;

The seeds have shriveled/withered in the ground.
-or-

⌊We (incl.) planted⌋ seeds in the soil, but they have failed to grow.
-or-
All the seeds ⌊that we (incl.) sowed⌋ have dried/died because the ground has received no rain.

1:17b the storehouses are in ruins;

The storehouses stand desolate/empty.
-or-
The barns have not been maintained
-or-
No food is stored in the granaries,

1:17c the granaries are broken down,

They have been allowed to decay/deteriorate,
-or-
and they are in ruins,
-or-
and so they have fallen down.

1:17d for the grain has withered away.

for there is no grain to put in them.
-or-

⌊useless/empty⌋ because the crops have failed.
-or-
The farms have not produced any wheat to store in them.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2:29

2:29a Even on My menservants and maidservants,

And also on the male servants and female servants
-or-
I will even include ⌊your (plur.) ⌋ male and female servants

2:29b I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

I will pour out my Spirit at that time.
-or-
in those days, when I will freely give my Spirit.

2:29a–b (reordered)

In those days, I will even/also pour out my Spirit on male servants and female servants.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2:8

2:8a They do not jostle one another;

They do not bump into each other,
-or-
They do not push/shove each other,

2:8b each proceeds in his path.

but each one walks in a straight path.
-or-
they march without turning ⌊to the left or to the right⌋ .

2:8c They burst through the defenses,

They pass through the ⌊city’s⌋ defenses
-or-
They go straight past all weapons

2:8d never breaking ranks.

without changing their ⌊marching⌋ position/order.
-or-
without even slowing down.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 3:8

3:8a I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah,

I will cause your (plur.) sons and daughters to be sold to the people of Judah,
-or-
I will allow other people ⌊to take/capture⌋ your (plur.) sons and your daughters. They will sell them ⌊as slaves⌋ to the people of Judah.

3:8b and they will sell them to the Sabeans—to a distant nation.”

who will sell them to the Sabeans, a people who live far away.”
-or-
The people of Judah will then sell them to the people of Saba, who live in a distant land.”

3:8c Indeed, the LORD has spoken.

Yahweh has spoken this.
-or-
This is the word/message from Yahweh.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 1:7

1:7a It has laid waste My grapevine

This army has destroyed/ruined my grapevines
-or-
This ⌊locust⌋ horde/swarm has devastated/damaged my grapevines,

1:7b and splintered My fig tree.

and turned my fig trees into stumps.
-or-
and it has made my fig trees worthless/useless.

1:7c It has stripped off the bark

It has torn the bark off the fig trees,
-or-
These locusts have ⌊even⌋ gnawed/chewed off the bark of the trees

1:7d and thrown it away;

discarding/dropping the bits of bark,
-or-
and tossed it away ⌊like garbage/trash⌋ .

1:7e the branches have turned white.

and left the tree branches ⌊stripped⌋ clean/bare.
-or-
Now the branches are/look naked/pale.

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

Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Joel 2020