The Meaning of Joel 2:9 Explained

Joel 2:9

KJV: They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

YLT: In the city they run to and fro, On the wall they run, Into houses they go up by the windows, They go in as a thief.

Darby: They spread themselves over the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in by the windows like a thief.

ASV: They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

They shall run to and fro  in the city;  they shall run  upon the wall,  they shall climb up  upon the houses;  they shall enter in  at the windows  like a thief. 

What does Joel 2:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Joel 2:1-11 - A Summons To Penitence
We know nothing of Joel beyond this book. He was content to be God's mouthpiece and remain unknown. His message was one of unparalleled woe. The memory of God's loving kindness ought to have kept His people faithful and loyal, but since grace and love had failed to affect them awful judgments were announced. A small insect, the locust, was to prostrate man's boasted power. The four kinds of locusts here described and which doubtless devastated the country, were also symbols of the four world-empires, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, and Rome, which were to lay waste the Holy Land. Such judgments call for acts of repentance, such as fasting, humiliation, and intercession. There are days in national experience when it becomes us to gird ourselves and lament. The ministers and elders of the Church should lead the way. Where there has been infidelity to the great Lover of souls, when the visible Church or the individual member has turned from Christ to the wanton world, then joy withers away, Joel 1:12, spiritual worship ceases, Joel 1:9, and there can be neither peace nor safety until there has been repentance and return. [source]

Chapter Summary: Joel 2

1  He shows unto Zion the terribleness of God's judgment
12  He exhorts to repentance;
15  prescribes a fast;
18  promises a blessing thereon
21  He comforts Zion with present,
28  and future blessings

What do the individual words in Joel 2:9 mean?

In the city they run to and fro on the wall they run into the houses they climb at the windows they enter like a thief
בָּעִ֣יר יָשֹׁ֗קּוּ בַּֽחוֹמָה֙ יְרֻצ֔וּן בַּבָּתִּ֖ים יַעֲל֑וּ בְּעַ֧ד הַחַלּוֹנִ֛ים יָבֹ֖אוּ כַּגַּנָּֽב

בָּעִ֣יר  In  the  city 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
יָשֹׁ֗קּוּ  they  run  to  and  fro 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: שֹׁוקֵק 
Sense: to run, run about, rush, run to and fro, be eager or greedy or thirsty.
בַּֽחוֹמָה֙  on  the  wall 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֹומָה  
Sense: wall.
יְרֻצ֔וּן  they  run 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural, Paragogic nun
Root: רוּץ 
Sense: to run.
בַּבָּתִּ֖ים  into  the  houses 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: בַּיִת 
Sense: house.
יַעֲל֑וּ  they  climb 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
בְּעַ֧ד  at 
Parse: Preposition
Root: בַּעַד 
Sense: behind, through, round about, on behalf of, away from, about.
הַחַלּוֹנִ֛ים  the  windows 
Parse: Article, Noun, common plural
Root: חַלֹּון 
Sense: window (piercing of the wall).
יָבֹ֖אוּ  they  enter 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
כַּגַּנָּֽב  like  a  thief 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גַּנָּב  
Sense: thief.

What are the major concepts related to Joel 2:9?

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