Joel 1 · Verse 6

Joel 1:6

For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.
Joel 1:6, King James Version

Joel 1:6 in other translations

BSBFor a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
WEBFor a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.
ASVFor a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
YLTFor a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.
DARBYFor a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number: his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a lioness.
BBEFor a nation has come up over my land, strong and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the back teeth of a great lion.
WebsterFor a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

What does Joel 1:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. nation--applied to the locusts, rather than "people" (Pr 30:25, 26), to mark not only their numbers, but also their savage hostility; and also to prepare the mind of the hearer for the transition to the figurative locusts in the second chapter, namely, the "nation" or Gentile foe coming against Judea (compare Joe 2:2). my land--that is, Jehovah's; which never would have been so devastated were I not pleased to inflict punishment (Joe 2:18; Is 14:25; Jr 16:18; Eze 36:5; 38:16). strong--as irresistibly sweeping away before its compact body the fruits of man's industry. without number--so Jud 6:5; 7:12, "like grasshoppers (or "locusts") for multitude" (Jr 46:23; Na 3:15). teeth ... lion--that is, the locusts are as destructive as a lion; there is no vegetation that can resist their bite (compare Re 9:8). Pliny says "they gnaw even the doors of houses."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 A nation is come up upon my land - That real locusts are intended there can be little doubt; but it is thought that this may be a double prophecy, and that the destruction by the Chaldeans may also be intended, and that the four kinds of locusts mentioned above may mean the four several attacks made on Judea by them. The first in the last year of Nabonassar, (father of Nebuchadnezzar), which was the third of Jehoiakim; the second when Jehoiakim was taken prisoner in the eleventh year of his reign; the third in the ninth year of Zedekiah and the fourth three years after, when Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Others say that they mean four powers which have been enemies of the Jews: 1. The palmerworm, the Assyrians and Chaldeans. 2. The locust, the Persians and Medes. 3. The cankerworm, the Greeks, and particularly Antiochus Epiphanes. 4. The caterpillar, the Romans. Others make them four kings; Tiglath-pileser, Shalmaneser, Sennacherib, and Nebuchadnezzar. But of such similitudes there is no end; and the best of them is arbitrary and precarious.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joel 1:1-7

A plague of locusts. (Joel 1:1-7) All sorts of people are called to lament it. (Joel 1:8-13) They are to look to God. (Joel 1:14-20) Verses 1-7 The most aged could not remember such calamities as were about to take place. Armies of insects were coming upon the land to eat the fruits of it. It is expressed so as to apply also to the destruction of the country by a foreign enemy, and seems to refer to the devastations…

Read the full comment on Joel 1:1-7 →

Joel 1:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
גוֹי֙goya nationH1471
עָלָ֣ה'a.Lahit has come upH5927
עַל\־'al-onH5921
אַרְצִ֔י'ar.Tziland myH776
עָצ֖וּם'a.TzummightyH6099
וְאֵ֣יןve.'Einand there notH369
מִסְפָּ֑רmis.Par[is] numberH4557
שִׁנָּיו֙shi.Navteeth itsH8127
שִׁנֵּ֣יshi.Nei[are the] teeth ofH8127
אַרְיֵ֔ה'ar.Yeha lionH738
וּֽמְתַלְּע֥וֹתu.me.ta.le.'otand [the] fangs ofH4973
לָבִ֖יאla.Vi'a lionessH3833
לֽוֹ\׃lo[belong] to it

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Joel 1:6

  • Joel 2:25

    And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

  • Joel 2:2-11

    A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. …

  • Isaiah 8:8

    And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

  • Revelation 9:7-10

    And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle. And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

  • Proverbs 30:14

    There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

  • Psalms 107:34

    A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

  • Proverbs 30:25-27

    The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

  • Isaiah 32:13

    Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

  • Hosea 9:3

    They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
nation.
2:2-11,25; Pr 30:25-27
my.
Ps 107:34; Isa 8:8; 32:13; Ho 9:3
whose.
Pr 30:14; Re 9:7-10

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Joel 1:5

    Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

  • Joel 1:6

    For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.

  • Joel 1:7

    He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

Read all of Joel 1

Joel 1:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Porque gente subió á mi tierra, fuerte y sin número; sus dientes, dientes de león, y sus muelas, de león.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Car une nation est montée sur mon pays, forte et innombrable. Ses dents sont les dents d’un lion, et elle a les grosses dents d’une lionne.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Denn eine Nation ist über mein Land heraufgezogen, mächtig und ohne Zahl; ihre Zähne sind Löwenzähne, und sie hat das Gebiß einer Löwin.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Gens enim ascendit super terram meam, fortis et innumerabilis: dentes ejus ut dentes leonis, et molares ejus ut catuli leonis.