Joel 2 · Verse 4

Joel 2:4

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Joel 2:4, King James Version

Joel 2:4 in other translations

BSB	Their appearance is like that of horses, and they gallop like swift steeds.
WEB	Their appearance is as the appearance of horses, and they run as horsemen.
ASV	The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so do they run.
YLT	As the appearance of horses is its appearance, And as horsemen, so they run.
DARBY	The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so they run.
BBE	Their form is like the form of horses, and they are running like war-horses.
Webster	The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

What does Joel 2:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. appearance ... of horses--(Re 9:7). Not literal, but figurative locusts. The fifth trumpet, or first woe, in the parallel passage (Re 9:1-11), cannot be literal: for in Re 9:11 it is said, "they had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit"--in the Hebrew, Abaddon ("destroyer"), but in the Greek, Apollyon--and (Re 9:7) "on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men." Compare Joe 2:11, "the day of the Lord ... great and very terrible"; implying their ultimate reference to be connected with Messiah's second coming in judgment. The locust's head is so like that of a horse that the Italians call it cavalette. Compare Job 39:20, "the horse ... as the grasshopper," or locust. run--The locust bounds, not unlike the horse's gallop, raising and letting down together the two front feet.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 4 The appearance of horses - The head of the locust is remarkably like that of the horse; and so Ray on Insects describes them: Caput oblongum, equi instar, prona spectans - "They have an oblong head, like to that of a horse, bending downward." On this account the Italians call them cavaletta, cavalry. Bochart remarks, from an Arabic writer, that the locusts resemble ten different kinds of animals: 1. The Horse in its head. 2. The Elephant in its eyes. 3. The Bull in its neck. 4. The Stag in its horns. 5. The Lion in its breast. 6. The Scorpion in its belly. 7. The Eagle in its wings. 8. The Camel in its thighs. 9. The Ostrich in its feet. And 10. The Serpent in its tail. Vid. Hieroz., vol. ii., p. 475, edit. 1692. But its most prominent resemblance is to the horse, which the prophet mentions; and which the Arabic writer puts in the first place, as being the chief.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Joel 2:1-14

God's judgments. (Joel 2:1-14) Exhortations to fasting and prayer; blessings promised. (Joel 2:15-27) A promise of the Holy Spirit, and of future mercies. (Joel 2:28-32) Verses 1-14 The priests were to alarm the people with the near approach of the Divine judgments. It is the work of ministers to warn of the fatal consequences of sin, and to reveal the wrath from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of…

Read the full comment on Joel 2:1-14 →

Joel 2:4 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.

כְּמַרְאֵ֥הke.mar.'Eh[is] like [the] appearance ofH4758

סוּסִ֖יםsu.SimhorsesH5483

מַרְאֵ֑הוּmar.'E.huappearance itsH4758

וּכְפָרָשִׁ֖יםu.khe.fa.ra.Shimand like horsemenH6571

כֵּ֥ןkensoH3651

יְרוּצֽוּן\׃ye.ru.Tzunthey run !H7323

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

Cross references for Joel 2:4

Revelation 9:7
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.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Re 9:7

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

Context

Joel 2:3
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.
Joel 2:4
The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.
Joel 2:5
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.

Read all of Joel 2

Joel 2:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Su parecer, como parecer de caballos; y como gente de á caballo correrán.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Leur aspect est comme l’aspect des chevaux, et ils courent comme des cavaliers.
German Elberfelder 1871	Sein Aussehen ist wie das Aussehen von Rossen; und wie Reitpferde, also rennen sie.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Quasi aspectus equorum, aspectus eorum; et quasi equites, sic current.