Joel 2:15-17
Expanded Bible
15 Blow the trumpet in ·Jerusalem [L Zion; 2:1];
·call for [declare; appoint; consecrate] a ·day when everyone fasts [fast; 1:14].
·Tell everyone to stop work [L Call a sacred assembly]!
16 ·Bring the people together [Assemble/Gather the people]
and ·make the meeting holy for the Lord [consecrate/sanctify the congregation/assembly].
Bring together the elders,
as well as the children,
and even babies that still feed at their mothers’ breasts.
·The bridegroom should [L Let the bridegroom] come from his room [C indicating urgency; newly married men were exempt from military service; Deut. 20:7; 24:5],
the bride from her ·bedroom [chamber].
17 ·The [L Let the] priests, ·the Lord’s servants [who minister before the Lord], should ·cry [weep]
between the altar and the ·entrance to the Temple [portico; vestibule].
·They should [L Let them] say, “Lord, ·have mercy on [spare] your people.
Don’t let ·them [L your inheritance/possession] be ·put to shame [mocked; a reproach];
don’t let other nations make ·fun of them [them a byword].
·Don’t let [L Why should the] people in other nations ask,
‘Where is their God?’”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.