Terribleness of God's judgments. JOEL. Before Joel prescribeth a fast, Before LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, | behind them a flame burneth: the land is CHRIST as "the garden of Eden before them, 'and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. CHRIST cir. 800. 1 Jer. 12. 11. & 14.2. mourn. 10 The field is wasted,' the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: "the new Isai. 24-7 wine is dried up, the oil languisheth. ver. 12. Or. ashamed. 11 "Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; n Jer. 14. 3, howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. 4. • ver. 10. 12 The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are witherpIsai. 2411 ed: because 'joy is withered away from the sons of men. Jer. 48. 33. Isai. 9. 3. r ver. 9. $ 2 Chron. 20. 3, 4. ch. 2. 15, 16. 13 Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. 14¶Sanctify ye a fast, call a || solemn assembly, gather the elders and "all the Or, day of inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, t Lev. 23.36. restraint. u 2 Chron. 20. 13. Jer. 30.7. y Isai. 13. 6, 9. ch. 2.1. z See Deut. 12. 6, 7. & 16. 11, 14, 15. + Heb. grains. 15 Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. 16 Is not the meat cut off before our eyes, yea, "joy and gladness from the house of our God? 17 The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. 18 How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. c 19 O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the || pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. 20 The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are 7.187 dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. & 5. 5 'Like the noise of chariots on the Rev. 9. § tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, "as a strong people set in ver. 2. battle array. 6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: "all faces shall gather +blackness. 7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8 Neither shall one thrust another; 9 They shall run to and fro in the city; 144 Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; His even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God? 15¶Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: 16 Gather the people, 'sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. ch then 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the s 18 Then will the LORD be jealous D for his land, and pity his people. and promiseth a blessing thereon. Before CHRIST cir. 800. See ch. 1. 10. Mal. 3. 30, 11, 12. * See Exod. 10. 19. CHAP. III. The enemies of God's people threatened. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 But I will remove far off from you Jer. 1.14. "the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part 'toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because the hath done great things. Ezek. 47. 18. Zech. 14. 24. Deut. 11. + Heb. he hath magniAed to do. z ch. 1. 18, 20. 21 ¶ Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, 'ye beasts of the Zech.8.12. field: for the pastures of the wilderness See ch. 1. 19. do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. Toni. 41. 16. Hab. 3. 18. & 61. 10. Zech. 10. 7. Or, a Teacher of righteousmess. + Heb. acwording to righteous Lev. 26.4. Deut. 11. 14 & 28.12. e ch. 1. 4. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you || the former rain + moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years James 5.7. that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. f ver. 11. ha eh. 3. 17. i Lev. 26. 11, 36, 27, 28, k Lai. 45-5. 39. 22, 28. 27 And ye shall know that I am 'in 12. Ezek. 37. the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my 21, 22. Fack. people shall never be ashamed. 1 Isai-44. 3. 28 And it shall come to pass afterA319 ward, that I will pour out my spirit m Zech. 12. upon all flesh; "and your sons and your 10. John 7. daughters shall prophesy, your old men n Isai. 54-13. shall dream dreams, your young men Acts 21.9. shall see visions: 6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto +the Grecians, that ye might remove + Heb. the them far from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the i Sabeans, to a people *far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; † Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: 2.4 & 3.13. for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the har- Rev. 6. 12. ness, and the moon into blood, "before 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the val32 And it shall come to pass, that who-ley of decision: for the day of the soever shall call on the name of the LORD LORD is near in the valley of decision. shall be delivered: for "in mount Zion 15 The sun and the moon shall be 31, and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as darkened, and the stars shall withdraw &5.3, 7, the LORD hath said, and in the remnant their shining. 27.& 11.5,7 whom the LORD shall call. 31.7. Mic. 4. 8. Rom. 9. 9¶Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of "Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; *because they delivered up the whole P K Rev. 11.3 the LORD that dwelleth in Zhan Before captivity to Edom, and remembered not CHRIST the brotherly covenant: 10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof. the covenant of the 2 Sam. 5. 17. 1 Kings 5. L. 911-44 y ver. 4, 7, ke 1. 11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; & 345 Jer. because he did pursue his brother with f Ezek. 25. 12, the sword, and did cast off all pity, and 13, 14 835 2, &c. Joel his anger did tear perpetually, and he 3. 19. Obad. kept his wrath for ever: 1, &c. Mal. 1.4 41. Deat, rupted in 12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, a Gear which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. 7. Ma! 1.2 13 Thus saith the LORD; For three Chro transgressions of the children of Am-Hebr mon, and for four, I will not turn away til the punishment thereof; because they have 'ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their e Jeh border: h 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the pa- f laces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of . Ilthe whirlwind: 15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith h the LORD. THUS saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones hugs) of the king of Edom into lime: 2 But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kiri-Jet 4+ oth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound ofa the trumpet: d 3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD. 4 Thus saith the LORD; For three The unthankfulness of Israel. CHRIST 787. CHAP. III. IV. Before transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; f Lev. 26.14, because they have despised the law of 15. Neh. 1.7 the LORD, and have not kept his comIsai. 28. mandments, and their lies caused them 19, 20. Rom. to err, " after the which their fathers have walked: Dan. 9. 11. 15. Jer. 16. 1.25. h Ezek. 20. 13, 16, 18, 24, 30. í Jer. 17. 27. Hos. 8. 14. k Isai. 29. 21. ch. 8. 6. 2. 1 Isai. 10. m Ezek. 22. ch. 5. 12. 11. 1 Or, young woman. n Lev. 20.3. Ezek. 36. 20. Rom. 2. 24. o Exod. 22. 26. p Ezek. 23. 41. 1 Cor. 8. 10. & 10. 21. Or, such 5' But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. 6 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because *they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; 7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and 'turn aside the way of the meek: mand a man and his father will go in unto the same || maid, to profane my holy name: 8 And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. 9 ¶ Yet destroyed I the Amorite beat have fined, fore them, whose height was like the or, mulcted. height of the cedars, and he was strong as 24. Deut. 2. the oaks; yet I'destroyed his fruit from 3. Josh. 24. above, and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and "led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for 'NaIs it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. 3. Judg. 13. zarites. 5. y laai. 30. 10. Jer. 11. 21. eb. 7. 12, 13. Mic. 2.6. z Isai. 1. 14. 1 Or, I will press your place, as a cart full of sheaves presseth. a ch. 9. 1, b Ps. 33. 16. + Heb. his soul, or, life. Ps. 33. 17. + Heb. strong of his heart. 147. 19, 20. b See Dan. 9.12. Matt. 12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. 13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. 14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver + himself: 15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. 16 And he that is † courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD. CHAP. III. 1 The necessity of God's judgment against EAR this word that the LORD hath Hspoken against you, O children of a Deut. 7. 6. Israel, against the whole family which I 32. 47. Rom. 4.17. + Heb. visit 9 ¶ Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof. 10 For they know not to do right, g Jer. 4. 22. saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces. 11" Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled. 12 Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd +taketh out of the mouth of the teeth lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch. 13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts, 14 That in the day that I shall || visit the trangressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth-el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground. Israel reproved for idolatry, &c. Before CHRIST 787. 39. 4 Come to Beth-el, and transgress; | city that went out by a thousand shall at Gilgal multiply transgression; and leave an hundred, and that which went Ezek. 20. bring your sacrifices every morning, forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to hand your tithes after three years: the house of Israel. f Hos. 4. 15. & 12. 11. ch. 5. 5. 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksg Numb. 28. giving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this Deut. 14. liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith 3, 4-. 28. + Heb. three the Lord GOD. years of days. i Lev. 7. 13. & 23. 17. 6¶ And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want + Heb. offer of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. by burning. k Lev. 92. 18, 21. Deut. 12. 6. + Heb. so ye love. גנן 7 And also I have withholden the rain 1 Ps. 81. 12. from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. m lani. 26. 11. Jer. 5.3Hag. 2. 17. ver. 8, 9. o Deut. 28. 22. Hag. 2. 17. I Or, the your gar worm, &c. & 2 25. 9 °I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and multitude of your vineyards and your fig trees and dens, c. did your olive trees increased, the palmerthe palmer worm devoured them: yet have ye not p Joel 1.4 returned unto me, saith the LORD. 10 I have sent among you the pestiOr, in the lence after the manner of Egypt: your Exod. 9. 3, young men have I slain with the sword, Deut. 28. 27, and have taken away your horses; and 60. Ps. 78. I have made the stink of your camps Heb. with to come up unto your nostrils: yet of captivity have ye not returned unto me, saith the 8 Seek him that maketh the 'seven stars J and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the P day dark with night: that 'calleth for 1 Job the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The 4 13 LORD is his name: spoiled Heb pr 9 That strengtheneth the against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress. 10 "They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that Kings speaketh uprightly. 11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built P Deat houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted sant vineyards, but ye shall not wine of them. pleadrink 39, 38, 3 Zeph. 1. U Mis Hag, L6 Hebre yards of desire. 1 A lamentation for Israel. 4 An exhortation HEA EAR ye this word which I take against you, even a lamentation, house of Israel. 2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up. 3 For thus saith the Lord GOD; The |