Joel 2:20
BSB · Public Domain (CC0)“The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.”
A short, plain-language explanation of Joel 2:20 goes here — the kind of answer a reader (or an AI assistant) can quote in one breath. Original meaning coming soon.
“The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.”
Berean Standard Bible · Public Domain (CC0)“But I will remove far off from you 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 he hath done great things.”
King James Version · Public Domain“but I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive it into a land barren and desolate, its forepart into the eastern sea, and its hinder part into the western sea; and its stench shall come up, and its ill savor shall come up, because it hath done great things.”
American Standard Version · Public Domain“And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work.”
Young's Literal Translation · Public DomainOther passages that echo Joel 2:20 — 15 related verses from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Exodus 8:14They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.
- Exodus 10:19And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind that carried off the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained anywhere in Egypt.
- Deuteronomy 11:24Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
- 2 Kings 8:13“But how could your servant, a mere dog, do such a monstrous thing?” said Hazael. And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”
- Psalms 126:3The LORD has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.
- Isaiah 34:3Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.
- Jeremiah 1:14Then the LORD said to me, “Disaster from the north will be poured out on all who live in the land.
- Ezekiel 39:12For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land.
- Ezekiel 47:7When I arrived, I saw a great number of trees along both banks of the river.
- Ezekiel 47:18On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.
- Joel 1:4What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
- Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be in ages to come.
- Amos 4:10“I sent plagues among you like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Zechariah 14:8And on that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it toward the Eastern Sea and the other half toward the Western Sea, in summer and winter alike.
- Malachi 3:11I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain) via OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).