Joel 1:15

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joel 1:14-20

We have observed abundance of tears shed for the destruction of the fruits of the earth by the locusts; now here we have those tears turned into the right channel, that of repentance and humiliation before God. The judgment was very heavy, and here they are directed to own the hand of God in it, his mighty hand, and to humble themselves under it. Here is, I. A proclamation issued out for a general fast. The priests are ordered to appoint one; they must not only mourn themselves, but they must... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joel 1:15

Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand ,.... A time of severer and heavier judgments than these of the locusts, caterpillars, &c.; which were a presage and emblem of greater ones, even of the total destruction of their city, temple, and nation, either by the Chaldeans, or by the Romans, or both: and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come ; unawares, suddenly, and irresistibly: there is in the Hebrew text an elegant play on words, which may be rendered, as... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:15

Alas for the day! - The Syriac repeats this, the Vulgate, Septuagint, and Arabic, thrice: "Alas, alas, alas, for the day!" As a destruction from the Almighty - The destruction that is now coming is no ordinary calamity; it is as a signal judgment immediately inflicted by the Almighty. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joel 1:15

Verse 15 It now follows, Alas the day! for nigh is the day of Jehovah. Here the Prophet, as it was at first stated, threatens something worse in future than what they had experienced. He has hitherto been showing their torpidity; now he declares that they had not yet suffered all their punishments, but that there was something worse to be feared, except they turned seasonably to God. And he now exclaims, as though the day of Jehovah was before his eyes, and he calls it the day of Jehovah,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:14-20

After urging the priests to lead the way in the matter, he proceeds to summon all classes of the people, and particularly the elders, to engage in penitence, fasting, and solemn supplications, in order to avert the calamities that were impending, or to escape from them if they had already begun. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:14-20

Calamity removed. I. THE DISCHARGE OF THE DUTIES ENJOINED IN A RIGHT WAY . After the prophet had summoned the ministers of religion to realize their responsibility and humble themselves under a due sense of sin—its sinfulness in God's sight—he further intimates its calamitous consequences to a country, to a community both in a temporal and spiritual sense; he then proceeds to point out the proper method of going about repentance and reform, urging the work with suitable... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:15

Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come . Some understand these words as suggested by the prophet to the people, that they might use them in their solemn and sorrowful appeal to the Almighty. This is favoured by the Syriac, which adds, "and say," as if the prophet prescribed to them the substance of their address. We prefer taking them as the prophet's own words, which he era-ploys to justify the urgency of the appeal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joel 1:15

The day of the Lord. This phrase is peculiarly Joel's, and it is apparently used by him in different senses. Of these we notice three. I. THE DAY OF THE LORD IS A DAY OF CALAMITY AND RETRIBUTION . This is plain from its further designation as a day of destruction, and from the prefatory exclamation "Alas]" with which it is introduced. Superstition, no doubt, has often misinterpreted the calamities of human life; yet it would be insensibility and spiritual... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joel 1:15

Alas for the day! for the Day of the Lord is at hand - The judgment of God, then, which they were to deprecate, was still to come. : “All times and all days are God’s. Yet they are said to be our days, in which God leaves us to our own freedom, to do as we will,” and which we may use to repent and turn to Him. “Whence Christ saith, ‘O Jerusalem - if thou hadst known in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace’ Luke 19:42. That time, on the contrary, is said to be God’s Day, in which... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joel 1:15-17

Joel 1:15-17. Alas for the day! Wo to us! The time in which God will inflict on us the punishments we have long deserved is now near; and if they be not averted by our repentance, they will fall upon us in an irresistible manner, and will end in our utter destruction, as coming from a God who is infinite in power, and terrible in his judgments. Is not the meat cut off before our eyes Hebrew, before your eyes, namely, devoured by locusts or withered with drought. Yea, joy and gladness... read more

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