Joel 3:16 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joel 3:16
The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
to rumble or moan · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Zion
מִצִּיּ֣וֹןmi.tzi.Yon
H6726
Tsijon (as a permanent capital) · preposition + proper noun, a place name
utter
יִתֵּ֣ןyi.Ten
H5414
to give · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
voice
קוֹל֔וֹko.Lo
H6963
a voice or sound · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
Jerusalem
וּמִירוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙u.mi.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · conjunction + preposition + proper noun, a place name
heavens
שָׁמַ֣יִםsha.Ma.yim
H8064
the sky (as aloft · noun, common masculine plural absolute
earth
וָאָ֑רֶץva.'A.retz
H776
the earth (at large · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
shake
וְרָעֲשׁ֖וּve.ra.'a.Shu
H7493
to undulate (as the earth · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
LORD
וַֽיהוָה֙va.Yah.weh
H3068
Jehovah · conjunction + proper noun, a title
hope
מַֽחֲסֶ֣הma.cha.Seh
H4268
a shelter (literally or figuratively) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
people
לְעַמּ֔וֹle.'a.Mo
H5971
a people (as a congregated unit) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
strength
וּמָע֖וֹזu.ma.'oz
H4581
a fortified place · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
children
לִבְנֵ֥יliv.Nei
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵֽלYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Joel 2:10-11 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining…
Amos 1:2 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top…
Jeremiah 25:30-31 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy…
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Isaiah 42:13 The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his…
Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth,…
Haggai 2:6 For thus saith the LORD of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land…
Psalms 61:3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joel 3:9-17
What the psalmist had long before ordered to be said among the heathen (Psa 96:10) the prophet here will have in like manner to be published to all nations, That the Lord reigns, and that he comes, he comes to judge the earth, as he had long been judging in the earth. The notice here given of God's judging the nations may have reference to the destruction of Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Antiochus, and to the Antichrist especially, and all the proud enemies of the Christian church; but some of the best interpreters, ancient and modern (particularly the learned Dr. Polock), think the scope of these verses is to set forth the day of the last judgment under the similitude of God's making war upo…
(Compare Eze 38:18-22). The victories of the Jews over their cruel foe Antiochus, under the Maccabees, may be a reference of this prophecy; but the ultimate reference is to the last Antichrist, of whom Antiochus was the type. Jerusalem being the central seat of the theocracy (Psa 132:13), it is from thence that Jehovah discomfits the foe.
roar--as a lion (Jer 25:30; Amo 1:2; Amo 3:8). Compare as to Jehovah's voice thundering, Psa 18:13; Hab 3:10-11.
Lord . . . the hope of his people--or, "their refuge" (Psa 46:1).
John Gill on Joel 3:16
The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem,.... Christ, the Lamb, shall now appear as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and utter his voice in his providence and judgments on the behalf of his church and people, signified by Zion and Jerusalem; and therefore said to roar, and utter his voice from thence; he will be heard far and near, and strike terror in the hearts of his enemies; see Jeremiah 25:30;
and the heavens and the earth shall shake; great revolutions will be made in the world, both in church and state, among the antichristian powers; and such as will also make them shake and tremble, as well as alter the form and frame of things among them; see Revelat…
(Ver. 16, 17.) And the Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He will give His voice, and the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord is the hope of His people and the strength of the children of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and strangers will not pass through it anymore. LXX: But the Lord will cry out from Zion, and from Jerusalem He will give His voice, and the heavens and the earth will be moved. And the Lord will spare His people, and will strengthen the children of Israel. And you will know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. And Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will not pass through it anymore. When the brightness of the sun, moon, and all the stars will be changed into darkness, the Lord will roar from Zion like a lion, or he will cry out, and his voice will be so loud and terrifying that the pillars of the heavens and the foundations of the earth will shake. And when he is so severe towards those who deserve punishment, he will be merciful towards his people, and he will give strength to those who are called the children of Israel, namely the ones who see God with their minds; or the most upright of God, whom we can rightly call the most righteous God: those who have not walked on crooked paths, but have walked in the path of Christ, have done all things righteously. Then those who are punished and those who are taken up into glory will know that the Lord dwells in His watchtower in Zion, and on His holy mountain in Christmont, or in the one who has prepared himself as a worthy dwelling for God. Then there will be the holy vision of Jerusalem, the vision of peace, from which Solomon received his name, and no foreigners will pass through it any longer. By foreigners, understand demons who are external to God, or all wicked thoughts and sins, of which the prophet speaks: 'From foreigners spare your servant' (Psalm 18:24), which would no longer find a way in us if we have the peace of God and our heart is not open to our adversaries. The Jews and our people, as we have said, who follow Jewish practices, recount a story of a thousand years, when they believe that Christ will dwell in Zion, and in Jerusalem adorned with gold and jewels, gathering the people of the saints, so that those who have been oppressed in…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Amos — Borne; a burden, one of the twelve minor prophets. He was a native of Tekota, the modern Tekua, a town about 12 miles south-east of Bethlehem. He was a man of humble birth, neither a “prophet nor a…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Joel 3:16
Joel 3:16
16. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
16. Et Jehova e Sion rugiet, et e Jerusalem dabit (edat) vocem suam; et contremiscent coeli et terra: et Jehova spes erit populo suo, et fortitudo filiis Israel.
The Prophet explains here more clearly his object, or the end for which he had hitherto spoken of God's judgment; for what we have heard served only to spread terror: but now the Prophet shows that his purpose was to console the faithful, and to give some relief to their troubles and sorrows. This is the reason wh…
"Sun and moon have become black, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. Joe 3:16. And Jehovah roars out of Zion, and He thunders out of Jerusalem; and heaven and earth quake: but Jehovah is a refuge to His people, and a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Joe 3:17. And ye will perceive that I Jehovah am your God, dwelling upon Zion, my holy mountain: and Jerusalem will be a sanctuary, and strangers will not pass through it any more." On the forebodings of the judgment in Joe 3:15, see at Joe 2:10. Out of Zion, the place of His throne, will Jehovah cause His thunder-voice to sound, will roar like a lion which is rushing upon its prey (Hos 5:14; Amo 3:4), so that heaven and earth tremble in…
The Lord’s voice, like that of a lion, would roar from Zion, shaking heaven and earth and terrifying sinners (see Amos 1:2). Yet this same ferocious lion is also a refuge for his people.
