Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Joel
Joel reads a devastating locust plague as a call from God, summoning the nation to repentance and announcing the day of the LORD. It rises to one of the greatest promises in the Old Testament, fulfilled at Pentecost, that God will pour out His Spirit on all flesh. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Joel, written by Joel son of Pethuel, uses a catastrophic locust plague on Judah as a call to national repentance and a foreshadowing of the day of the LORD, the time of God's decisive intervention in judgment and salvation. The book moves from lament over the ruined land to a summons to return to God with all the heart, and then to breathtaking promises of restoration and the outpouring of God's Spirit.
This commentary covers Joel verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Joel's central promise, 'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh' (2:28), is the very passage Peter preached at Pentecost to explain the birth of the church (Acts 2:16-21), making Joel a cornerstone of Apostolic teaching. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 3 chapters of Joel are complete, from the locust-stricken land and the call to rend the heart, through the outpouring of the Spirit fulfilled at Pentecost, to the judgment of the nations and the fountain flowing from the house of the LORD.
Author
Joel son of Pethuel; his name means 'the LORD is God.'
Setting
Judah, after a devastating locust plague.
Key Themes
Repentance, the day of the LORD, and the outpoured Spirit.
Famous Passage
'I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh' (2:28), quoted at Pentecost.
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Joel Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Joel 1:1-20
Wake Up and Weep
Joel reads a devastating locust plague as a summons from God, calling the nation to consecrate a fast and cry out to the LORD, for the day of the LORD is at hand.
Read Chapter 1 →Joel 2:1-32
I Will Pour Out My Spirit
The trumpet and the terrible day of the LORD that none can abide; the gracious call to 'rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful'; God's promise to 'restore... the years that the locust hath eaten'; and the great Pentecost prophecy, 'I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh... whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered.'
Read Chapter 2 →Joel 3:1-21
Multitudes in the Valley of Decision
God gathers the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat ('the LORD judges') to answer for scattering His people; the harvest of judgment and the 'multitudes in the valley of decision'; the LORD roaring out of Zion as 'the hope of his people'; and the book's glorious close, a fountain flowing 'out of the house of the LORD' and 'the LORD dwelleth in Zion.'
Read Chapter 3 →