7 They run like mighty men. They climb the wall like warriors. They each march in his line, and they don’t swerve off course.
8 Neither does one jostle another; they march everyone in his path, and they burst through the defenses, and don’t break ranks.
9 They rush on the city. They run on the wall. They climb up into the houses. They enter in at the windows like thieves.
KJVKing James Version
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 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.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
7 They run like mighty men, they climb the wall like men of war; and they move on every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths.
8 Neither doth one thrust another, they march every one in his highway; and they break through the weapons, and suffer no harm.
9 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.
Jeremiah 9:21(v9)For death has come up into our windows. It has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the…
John 10:1(v9)“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber.
Proverbs 30:27(v7)The locusts have no king, yet they advance in ranks.
Exodus 10:6(v9)Your houses shall be filled, and the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, as neither your fathers nor your…
2 Chronicles 23:10(v8)He set all the people, every man with his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, near the…
Show all 18 cross-references
2 Chronicles 32:5(v8)He took courage, built up all the wall that was broken down, and raised it up to the towers, with the other wall outside, and strengthened…
Nehemiah 4:23(v8)So neither I, nor my brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes. Everyone took…
Job 33:18(v8)He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
2 Samuel 1:23(v7)Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were…
2 Samuel 2:18-19(v7)The three sons of Zeruiah were there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asahel: and Asahel was as light of foot as a wild gazelle. Asahel pursued…
2 Samuel 5:8(v7)David said on that day, “Whoever strikes the Jebusites, let him go up to the watercourse and strike those lame and blind, who are hated by…
Nehemiah 4:17(v8)Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other…
Job 36:12(v8)But if they don’t listen, they will perish by the sword; they will die without knowledge.
Song of Solomon 4:13(v8)Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits, henna with spikenard plants,
Isaiah 5:26-29(v7)He will lift up a banner to the nations from far away, and he will whistle for them from the end of the earth. Behold, they will come…
Jeremiah 5:10(v7)“Go up on her walls, and destroy; but don’t make a full end. Take away her branches, for they are not Yahweh’s.
Joel 2:9(v7)They rush on the city. They run on the wall. They climb up into the houses. They enter in at the windows like thieves.
Psalms 19:5(v7)which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv8–9He then adds, A man shall not push his…
He then adds, A man shall not push his brother. By this mode of speaking the Prophet means that they would come in perfect order, so that the multitude would create no confusion, as it is mostly the case: for it is very difficult for an army to march in regular order without tumult, like two or three men walking together. For when a hundred horsemen march together some commonly hinder others. When therefore so large a number assemble together, it can hardly be possible for them not to retard and impede one another. But the Prophet declares that this would not be the case with the Assyrians, for the Lord would direct their goings. Though then the Lord would bring so large a multitude, it would yet be so well arranged and in such order, that no one would push his companion, or be any hindrance to him. A man, he says, shall in his way proceed, even without any impediment.
And on swords they shall fall, and shall not be wounded: that is, they shall not only be strong men of war, so that they shall intrepidly face every kind of danger; but they shall also escape unhurt from all weapons; though they may rush on swords like madmen and show no care for themselves, they shall not yet be wounded. But this may be taken in a still simpler way, “They shall not be wounded” that is, as if they could not be wounded. And it seems to me to be the genuine sense of the Prophet, that they would not entertain any fear of death, so as cautiously to attack their enemies, but would with impunity provoke death itself by casting themselves on the very swords: they would not then fear any wound, but dare to face swords as if they were wholly harmless to them. Some render the word, “they shall not covet;” and then the word means as if the Prophet had said, that they would not be covetous of money. But this meaning can hardly suit this place; and we see that the best sense seems to be, that they would heedlessly rush on swords, as though they could not be wounded.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn v8For none shall be able to resist them.
For none shall be able to resist them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv7–9Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they…
Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Ver. 7. They shall run like mighty men] Horribiles, fortissimi ut gigantes. They shall strike terror into others, as in the former verse, but themselves, as giants and conquerors, shall overrun all with incredible swiftness and prowess. Strong soldiers have strong sinews, and thence their speedy marches and quick despatch. "Asahel was light of foot as a wild roe," 2Sa 2:18. Achilles is everywhere by Homer called swift-footed, ποδας ωκυς. Alexander the Great, being asked how he so quickly conquered so many countries, answered, Mηδεν αναβαλλομενος, by my nimbleness. Caesar in omnia princeps, Caesar in all things first, saith Lucan, he passed the Alps, and was at Rome with a trice, as they say. His word was, Veni, vidi, vici, I no sooner came, but I overcame. He is said to have taken a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, took prisoner one million of men, and to have slain as many. What a deal was done by Joshua in a short space at the conquest of Canaan? Charles V, Emperor of Germany, is reported to have won in the Indies, by his captains and commanders there, twenty-eight kingdoms in twenty-eight battles. Bajazet, the great Turk, for his swiftness and fierceness, was surnamed Gilderun, or lightning. To such worthy warriors, ready and speedy, prompt and present, are these locusts, God’s armed soldiers, here compared. "They shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of war," that cannot be kept out, that will not be worsted.
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They shall march every one (Heb., man) on his way] Though many, yet they shall not one hinder or hurt another, but hold a comely equipage, keep rank and file, observe the laws and rules of discipline, and so
“ Coniuneti pollent etiam vehementer inertes. ”
They go forth all of them by bands, or gathered together, saith Solomon, Pro 30:27. So do those locusts in the Revelation, the Popish clergy under their king, the destroyer, Rev 9:11. Locusts they are fitly called for their numerosity and voracity. The Jesuits alone have sometimes 200,000 scholars. And how they feed on the fat and drink the sweet where they swarm who knows not.
They shall not break their ranks] Or, writhe and pervert their paths, as Aben Ezra out of the Arabic idiom rendereth it. Jerome testifieth that he and others saw in Judea troops of locusts flying in so even an order, ut ne puncto quidem aut ungue transverso declinent ad alteram, that you could not say they brake rank at all; tanto ordine et dispositione iubentis Dei volitant, saith he, so strict and beautiful discipline there is in God’s whole army, to whom belong the shields of the earth, the militia of the whole world, Psa 47:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv7–9They, locusts, and they who by the locusts are…
They, locusts, and they who by the locusts are signified, viz. Chaldeans, Assyrians, or Babylonians,
shall run, with speed, fierceness, and irresistible power, against their enemies.
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Mighty men; valiant and strong men, or giants.
They shall climb the wall; no walls of any fortified towns shall be high enough to keep them out. Strange locusts, that assault cities! but armed and commissioned of God, they shall vigorously act their part, and do what he appointeth and commandeth them to do.
Like men of war; who fear no power that from within the cities might oppose them, they shall valiantly and skilfully manage the assault.
They shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: naturalists testify the truth of this in the stories of these insects, and their marshalling of themselves, of which also see Pro 30:27; Nah 3:17. This skill in ordering, and steadiness in keeping order, like exactly trained soldiers, foretells the terror and strength both of the armies signified by these locusts, and of the locusts themselves. As these then did, so the Assyrians, Chaldeans, or Babylonians should proceed in arms against this people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv7–9They shall run like mighty men,.... Like men of…
They shall run like mighty men,.... Like men of war, in a hostile way, as soldiers run upon their enemy with undaunted courage and bravery. Bochart from Pisidas describes the locusts' manner of fighting, who says, they strike not standing, but running:
they shall climb the wall like men of war; scale the walls of cities as besiegers do; walls and bulwarks cannot keep them out; all places are accessible to them, walled cities, towns, yea, even houses, Exo 10:6;
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and they shall march everyone on his ways; in his proper path, following one another, and keeping just distance:
and they shall not break their ranks; or "pervert their ways", as the word signifies in the Arabic language, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, observe; that is, decline not from their paths, as the Septuagint version; proceed in an orderly way, keep rank and file; so they are said to go forth in bands, Pro 30:27; and to encamp, Nah 3:17. Jerom on the text relates what he saw with his own eyes:
"this we lately saw (says he) in this province (Palestine); for when swarms of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew in such order, by the disposition and command of God, that they kept their place like chequered squares in a pavement fixed by the hands of artificers; so as not to decline a point, nor even I may say a nail's breadth;''
they keep as exact order as if military discipline was known and observed by them. Some render it, "they shall not ask their way" (n); being unconcerned about it, moving on in a direct line securely.
(n) "non interrogabunt isti ab illo de semitis suis", some in Vatablus, and others in Kimchi and Abendana.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv7–9Their ranks - This skill in ordering and the…
Their ranks - This skill in ordering and the steadiness in keeping under, exactly like trained soldiers, foretells the terror and strength of both the armies signified by these locusts, and of the locusts themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv7–8Verse 7. Like mighty men-like men of war (and…
Verse 7. Like mighty men-like men of war (and as horsemen, Joe 2:4)] The prophet does not say they are such, but they resemble. They are locusts; but in their operations they are LIKE the above.
They shall not break their ranks] See the account on Joe 2:2, from Dr. Shaw.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv7, 9Joe 2:7-8. They shall run like mighty men —…
Joe 2:7-8. They shall run like mighty men — They shall proceed everywhere like stout and mighty men, who are afraid of nothing. The description here given agrees perfectly to locusts, as Bochart has shown. “First, They shall run. Now their manner of fighting is thus described: They strike, or wound, not as they stand, but as they run. Secondly, They run as mighty men. What are more innumerable or strong than locusts, says St. Jerome, which no human pains can resist? Thirdly, They shall march every one in his way, and not break their ranks: and in the next verse, Neither shall one thrust or press his comrade. St. Jerome, in his notes on this place, observes, ‘This we lately saw in our part of the country; for when swarms of locusts came and filled the lower region of the air, they flew in such order, by the divine appointment, and kept their places as exactly, as when several tiles, or party-coloured stones, are skilfully placed in a pavement, so as not to be a hair’s breadth out of their several ranks.’“ The same is observed by other writers cited by Bochart: and what is further remarkable, before the body of them come to any place, they send scouts and messengers, as it were, to view the ground, and measure it out for their use; as the same last-mentioned writer remarks from Sigibertus, concerning the locusts which destroyed France in the year 874. When they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded — By reason of their lightness and nimbleness, and the hardness and smoothness of the outward coat of their skin. It “refers,” says Newcome, “to the scales with which locusts are covered as with a coat of mail.” “Most animals retreat at the sight of a man, but it is the reverse with locusts, for they will studiously attack. Where they collect in numbers, the inhabitants retire into their dwellings as fast as possible, lest by appearing abroad they might provoke their anger. They show no fear, and, from their slender shape, frequently elude the blow aimed at them.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv7–9They shall run like mighty men - They are…
They shall run like mighty men - They are on God’s message, and they linger not, “but rejoice to run their course” Psa 19:5. “The height of walls cannot hinder the charge of the mighty; they enter not by the gates but over the walls” , as of a city taken by assault. People can mount a wall few at a time; the locusts scale much more steadily, more compactly, more determinately, and irresistibly. The picture unites the countless multitude, condensed march, and entire security of the locust with the might of warriors.
They shall march every one on his ways - There is something awful and majestic in the well-ordered flight of the winged locusts, or their march while yet unwinged. “This,” says Jerome, “we have seen lately in this province (Palestine). For when the hosts of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew, by the disposal of God ordaining, in such order, as to hold each his place, like the minute pieces of mosaic, fixed in the pavement by the artist’s hands, so as not to incline to one another a hair’s breadth.” “You may see the locust,” says Theodoret, “like enemies, both mounting the walls, and marching on the roads, and not allowing itself to be dispersed by any violence, but making the assault by a sort of concert.” “It is said,” says Cyril, “that they go in rank, and fly as in array, and are not severed from each other, but attend one on the other, like sisters, nature infusing into them this mutual love.” : “They seemed to be impelled by one common instinct, and moved in one body, which had the appearance of being organized by a leader.” : “There is something frightful in the appearance of these locusts proceeding in divisions, some of which are a league in length and 200 paces in breadth.” : “They continued their journey, as if a signal had been actually given them to march.”
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So, of the young brood it is related; : “In June, their young broods begin gradually to make their appearance; no sooner were any of them hatched than they immediately collected themselves together, each of them forming a compact body of several hundred yards square, which, marching afterward directly forward, climbed over trees, walls and houses, ate up every plant in their way, “and let nothing escape them.” : “They seemed to march in regular battalions, crawling over everything that lay in their passage, in one straight front.” So the judgments of God hold on their course, each going straight to that person for whom God in the awful wisdom of His justice ordains it. No one judgment or chastisement comes by chance. Each is directed and adapted, weighed and measured, by Infinite Wisdom, and reaches just that soul, for which God appointed it, and no other, and strikes upon it with just that force which God ordains it. As we look on, God’s judgments are like a heavy sleet of arrows; yet as each arrow, shot truly, found the mark at which it was aimed, so, and much more, does each lesser or greater judgment, sent by God, reach the heart for which He sends it and pierces it just as deeply as He wills.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv7–8Ranks. Locusts march like a regular army. (Theodoret) ---…
Ranks. Locusts march like a regular army. (Theodoret) --- No fortification can keep them out. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv7–9Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One…
Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One locust not turning a nail's breadth out of his own place in the march" [JEROME]. Compare Pro 30:27, "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn v77-10. The comparison with a well-equipped army is taken…
7-10. The comparison with a well-equipped army is taken up again and carried further; the advance is irresistible; there is no confusion or disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls; they penetrate the inmost recesses of the houses.
They… run — To the assault; advance, charge (Psa_18:29; Job_15:26). There is no delay (Joe_2:4); if they have decided upon a point of attack they carry out their plan; nothing can impede their progress; walls they climb like men of war. They do not get into one another’s way, they advance straight ahead, without turning to the right or left. An admirable description of the advance of locusts (compare remark on Joe_2:4). Jerome says: “When the swarms of locusts come and fill the whole atmosphere between earth and sky, they fly, according to the appointment of the commanding God, in such order that they preserve an exact shape, just like the squares drawn upon a tessellated pavement, not diverging on either side by, so to speak, so much as a finger’s breadth.… There is no road impassable to locusts; they penetrate into fields, and crops, and trees, and cities, and houses, and even the recesses of the bedchambers.” So also Theodoret: “You may see the locusts like a hostile army ascending the walls, and advancing the roads, not suffering any difficulty to disperse them, but steadily moving forward as if according to some concerted plan.”
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And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded — Better, R.V., “and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course.” No resistance is effective; they throw themselves upon the weapons and pass on without being disturbed or confused. Some may be wounded and drop, but the great mass continues in regular order. This is a better interpretation than that implied in the translation, “They did not cut themselves to pieces” (Keil), or “without being wounded” (Von Orelli). The verse would seem to imply that the people were accustomed to meet the locusts with weapons to fight them off; and that is actually done, according to the statements of some travelers. “Both in Asia and Europe they sometimes take the field against the locusts with all the implements of war” (Hasselquist). “The guard of the Red Town attempted to stop their irruption into Transylvania by firing at them; and indeed when the balls and shot went through the swarm they gave way and divided; but having filled up their ranks in a moment they proceeded on their journey” (quoted by Pusey). Thomson also speaks of the impossibility of stopping their progress: “We dug trenches and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps, but the effort was utterly hopeless.” Livy and Pliny seem to have known of similar methods of fighting the locusts.
Sword — R.V., “weapons”; Hebrews shelah; not the ordinary word for weapon, but one used only in late writings; it seems to have been a weapon that was extended or held in front.
Held back by nothing, the host (9) forces its way into the city.
They shall run to and fro in the city — Hebrews shaqaq; literally, drive, impel to run, then, run hither and thither; here not, “they run to and fro in the city” after mastering it (A.V., Driver, Hitzig), but “they throw themselves upon the city” (Isa_33:4; Nah_2:4). Again they are successful; they run upon the wall, yea, they get into the houses themselves. On Joe_2:9 Theodoret makes this comment: “And this we have frequently seen done, not merely by hostile armies but also by locusts, which not only when flying but by creeping along the walls penetrate into dwellings by the light holes.” “During the great plague of locusts in 1865 many inhabitants of Nazareth were compelled to leave their homes” (Riehm).
Windows — Glass was and still is exceedingly scarce in the Orient, therefore expensive and used but rarely for windows; the latter consist ordinarily of lattice work, and serve also as chimneys out of which smoke may escape; so it was quite easy for locusts to creep through.
Like a thief — Would hardly be said of a hostile army, but is true of the locusts.
With Joe_2:10 a new start is made. The whole earth is terrified, for it becomes clear that the judgment is of unusual significance. The thought of the day of Jehovah becomes more prominent and influences the description to a large extent.
Before them — The singular, as in Joe_2:6, while the verbs in the preceding verses referring to the locusts are in the plural; yet the pronoun refers undoubtedly to the swarm of locusts which are looked upon as a unit. The preposition is not the same as in Joe_2:6; in the latter causality is implied, here the phenomena spoken of may be regarded not as caused by the locusts, but simply accompanying them; it leaves it undecided whether the locusts of 2-9 or Jehovah (Joe_2:11) is the cause.
The earth shall quake… the heavens shall tremble — “It is not that the strength of the locusts is so great that it can move the heavens and shake the earth, but that, to those who suffer from such calamities, through the greatness of their own terror the heavens appear to shake and the earth to reel” (Jerome).
Shall be dark — Heb, kadhar, “coal black”; not a particle of light is to be seen. The day of Jehovah is inaugurated by extraordinary phenomena in the sphere of nature (Joe_2:30-31; Joe_3:15; Isa_13:10; Isa_13:13; Amo_8:9). The locusts do darken the sky, but here the reference seems to be to something more — we are in the sphere of the apocalyptic — to the approach of Jehovah himself, before whom all nature stands in awe and terror. The thought of an actual earthquake, eclipse, or severe thunderstorm may have been in the mind of the prophet; but this is not certain, though the coming of Jehovah is often pictured in the imagery of a storm (Psa_18:7 ff.). The whole is a vivid picture of the terror that overcomes man and nature when it is discovered that Jehovah approaches for judgment. Jehovah is the leader of the hosts.
Utter his voice — Of command; Hebrews nathan qol; a very common Old Testament expression to designate thunder. Only so can he make himself understood, because the camp is very great — It stretches far into the distance, and the noise made by the locusts must be drowned; it is this vastness of the army also that makes it necessary to have a divine commander. The introduction of the next two clauses with “for” rather weakens the message of the prophet; they should be translated as exclamations (G.-K., 148d), emphasizing the vastness of Jehovah’s army: “Yea, strong is he that executeth his word” — the army of locusts (2-9, 25), which carries out his command; “yea, the day of Jehovah.” Here again the day cannot be identified with the calamity already experienced; it is still in the future, though near at hand. Already the wonderful phenomena that announce the day are seen in the sky (Joe_2:31; Mal_4:5).
Who can abide — Or, endure. No one can stand its terrors. The forerunner has exhausted all resources, all strength. Complete annihilation threatens, unless somehow the final blow can be turned aside.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv7–97. They run like mighty men] i.e. like warriors,…
7. They run like mighty men] i.e. like warriors, which is what the word (gibbôr) regularly denotes (2Sa_23:8; and comp. on Amo_2:14). To run means here to charge: cf. Psa_18:29; Job_15:26.
they climb the wall] viz. of the city which they essay to enter.
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they move along every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths] i.e. they all march straight forward into the city (Jos_6:5); none crosses the path of his neighbour, so as to impede his advance.
entangle] יעבטון can hardly be rendered otherwise than lend on pledge, figuratively for interchange, which however would be here a very forced metaphor. It is better to read either יעבתון, which occurs Mic_7:3, and which, though the root is not otherwise known, may perhaps mean twist together, intertwine (cf. עבות a rope,?something twisted), or, with Wellh., יְעַוְּתוּן (and in Mic. וַיְעַוְּתוּהָ), which certainly would mean make crooked or twist (Ecc_7:13).
The steadiness and regularity which mark the advance of a body of locusts, when moving along the ground, has been often noticed: see below, pp. 88–90. Comp. Pro_30:27 “The locusts have no king; yet go they forth all of them in bands” (lit. divided).
7–9. The attack, anticipated by the peoples with alarm (Joe_2:6) now follows: the onward movement of the locusts is compared to that of a well-appointed army: nothing impedes their advance; there is no disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls, and penetrate into the strongest cities.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn v7(7-9) They shall run lite mighty men.—The onward irresistible…
(7-9) They shall run lite mighty men.—The onward irresistible march of the invaders is graphically described by the illustration of the advance of locusts. They appear on the mountains which environ the city, they mount the walls, they rush through the streets, they enter the houses, they are in possession of Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, p. 416) describes the movements of a locust army in the following terms:—“Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came, like a living deluge. We dug trenches, and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps; but the effort was utterly useless. Wave after wave rolled up the mountain-side, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches, hedges—those behind covering up and bridging over the masses already killed.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv7–9Vers. 7-9. The prophet, having mentioned the consternation and…
Vers. 7-9. The prophet, having mentioned the consternation and terror occasioned by the approach of locusts, proceeds to compare them to an army well equipped and overcoming all impediments.
They shall run like mighty men. This either refers to their extreme nimbleness or rapidity of motion (compare the Homeric podav wkuv podarkhv , and the like), or describes their running to an assault with intrepid valour and unwearied vigour. They shall climb the wall like men of war. This marks the success of their assault; they scale the walls and make good their attack. And they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks. Their march is as irresistible as it is orderly. In their onward march each pursues his way, allowing no obstacle to arrest or retard his course; while in a collective body they proceed and maintain their serried ranks unbroken. The verb fb is probably cognate with tb, to twist, and thus to turn aside. Thus the LXX: "They shall not turn aside their tracks;" so also the Syriac and Jerome translate it; but the Chaldee compares it with fwb, a pledge, and, as the deposit is detained till the pledge is redeemed, takes in the meaning of delay. Rosenmuller explains it in the sense of change or exchange, from the Qal, signifying "to receive on loan," and the Hiph., "to give on loan." Otherwise it is to "interweave" (equivalent to tb), "change." The sense of the whole is their not diverging to either side, nor straggling out of rank.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v8Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every…
Joe_2:8
Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path.
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Order is heavens first law
Reference is to the orderly march of locusts. Note the order which reigns throughout the whole of Gods world. After this fashion there should be order and arrangement in the Christian Church. Note the order of the movements of the heavenly bodies. The same law holds good with the whole animal creation. There is also order in the providence of God. An the events in our own little lives are marching straight on to a gracious consummation. We may rise higher; we may think of God Himself. We may say of all His attributes, neither doth one thrust another, but each one walketh in his path. The same order is perceptible in the doctrines of the Word. Doctrines which look as if they contradicted each other, are nevertheless fully agreed. Apply the lesson to the Christian life. We should remember that our thoughts, graces, and actions, ought all to keep their proper position. We ought to endeavour, as God shall teach us by His Spirit, to keep our thoughts of Gods Word in their due harmony. Doctrine is not all that is taught in the Word, there are duties and promises also. The same should hold good in the graces which we cultivate. The same proportions and balancings should be found in our Christian duties. God would have us attend to all duties. The difficulty is often felt as to how much is due to diligence in business, and how much to fervency in spirit. Each one must decide and draw the line for himself. There is a greater difficulty with regard to the arrangement of distinct duties, when they are likely to run counter to one another. What is true in the little commonwealth of the heart and home, ought also to be true of the Church at large. There are different orders of workers, and these must co-operate. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The army of the locusts
I. They are very bold and daring. Some of the ancients have observed that the head of a locust is very like in shape to the head of a horse.
2. Very loud and noisy. Like the noise of chariots, of many chariots, when driven furiously over rough ground. Historians tell us that the noise made by swarms of locusts in those countries that are infested with them has sometimes been heard six miles off. The noise is compared to that of a roaring fire.
3. They are very regular, and keep ranks in their march. They shall march every one on his ways, straight forward, as if they had been trained up by the discipline of war to keep their post and observe their right-hand man. Their number and swiftness shall breed no confusion. See how God can make creatures to act by rule that have no reason to act by, when He designs to serve His own purposes by them. And see how necessary it is that those who are employed in any service for God should observe order and keep rank, should diligently go on in their own work, and not stand in one anothers way. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v8General Information:
General Information:
The description of the locust army of Yahweh continues.
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On v72:7-9 The locusts would invade urban as well as…
2:7-9 The locusts would invade urban as well as agricultural areas, advancing like a disciplined, well-trained army to scale city walls and swarm over the city. Finding every means of entrance, they would even climb like thieves through the windows.
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv8–9 He then adds, A man shall not push his…
He then adds, A man shall not push his brother. By this mode of speaking the Prophet means that they would come in perfect order, so that the multitude would create no confusion, as it is mostly the case: for it is very difficult for an army to march in regular order without tumult, like two or three men walking together. For when a hundred horsemen march together some commonly hinder others. When therefore so large a number assemble together, it can hardly be possible for them not to retard and impede one another. But the Prophet declares that this would not be the case with the Assyrians, for the Lord would direct their goings. Though then the Lord would bring so large a multitude, it would yet be so well arranged and in such order, that no one would push his companion, or be any hindrance to him. A man, he says, shall in his way proceed, even without any impediment.
And on swords they shall fall, and shall not be wounded: that is, they shall not only be strong men of war, so that they shall intrepidly face every kind of danger; but they shall also escape unhurt from all weapons; though they may rush on swords like madmen and show no care for themselves, they shall not yet be wounded. But this may be taken in a still simpler way, “They shall not be wounded” that is, as if they could not be wounded. And it seems to me to be the genuine sense of the Prophet, that they would not entertain any fear of death, so as cautiously to attack their enemies, but would with impunity provoke death itself by casting themselves on the very swords: they would not then fear any wound, but dare to face swords as if they were wholly harmless to them. Some render the word, “they shall not covet;” and then the word means as if the Prophet had said, that they would not be covetous of money. But this meaning can hardly suit this place; and we see that the best sense seems to be, that they would heedlessly rush on swords, as though they could not be wounded.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On v8 For none shall be able to resist them.
For none shall be able to resist them.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they…
Joe 2:7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
Ver. 7. They shall run like mighty men] Horribiles, fortissimi ut gigantes. They shall strike terror into others, as in the former verse, but themselves, as giants and conquerors, shall overrun all with incredible swiftness and prowess. Strong soldiers have strong sinews, and thence their speedy marches and quick despatch. "Asahel was light of foot as a wild roe," 2Sa 2:18. Achilles is everywhere by Homer called swift-footed, ποδας ωκυς. Alexander the Great, being asked how he so quickly conquered so many countries, answered, Mηδεν αναβαλλομενος, by my nimbleness. Caesar in omnia princeps, Caesar in all things first, saith Lucan, he passed the Alps, and was at Rome with a trice, as they say. His word was, Veni, vidi, vici, I no sooner came, but I overcame. He is said to have taken a thousand towns, conquered three hundred nations, took prisoner one million of men, and to have slain as many. What a deal was done by Joshua in a short space at the conquest of Canaan? Charles V, Emperor of Germany, is reported to have won in the Indies, by his captains and commanders there, twenty-eight kingdoms in twenty-eight battles. Bajazet, the great Turk, for his swiftness and fierceness, was surnamed Gilderun, or lightning. To such worthy warriors, ready and speedy, prompt and present, are these locusts, God’s armed soldiers, here compared. "They shall run like mighty men, they shall climb the wall like men of war," that cannot be kept out, that will not be worsted.
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They shall march every one (Heb., man) on his way] Though many, yet they shall not one hinder or hurt another, but hold a comely equipage, keep rank and file, observe the laws and rules of discipline, and so
“ Coniuneti pollent etiam vehementer inertes. ”
They go forth all of them by bands, or gathered together, saith Solomon, Pro 30:27. So do those locusts in the Revelation, the Popish clergy under their king, the destroyer, Rev 9:11. Locusts they are fitly called for their numerosity and voracity. The Jesuits alone have sometimes 200,000 scholars. And how they feed on the fat and drink the sweet where they swarm who knows not.
They shall not break their ranks] Or, writhe and pervert their paths, as Aben Ezra out of the Arabic idiom rendereth it. Jerome testifieth that he and others saw in Judea troops of locusts flying in so even an order, ut ne puncto quidem aut ungue transverso declinent ad alteram, that you could not say they brake rank at all; tanto ordine et dispositione iubentis Dei volitant, saith he, so strict and beautiful discipline there is in God’s whole army, to whom belong the shields of the earth, the militia of the whole world, Psa 47:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–9 They, locusts, and they who by the locusts are…
They, locusts, and they who by the locusts are signified, viz. Chaldeans, Assyrians, or Babylonians,
shall run, with speed, fierceness, and irresistible power, against their enemies.
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Mighty men; valiant and strong men, or giants.
They shall climb the wall; no walls of any fortified towns shall be high enough to keep them out. Strange locusts, that assault cities! but armed and commissioned of God, they shall vigorously act their part, and do what he appointeth and commandeth them to do.
Like men of war; who fear no power that from within the cities might oppose them, they shall valiantly and skilfully manage the assault.
They shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: naturalists testify the truth of this in the stories of these insects, and their marshalling of themselves, of which also see Pro 30:27; Nah 3:17. This skill in ordering, and steadiness in keeping order, like exactly trained soldiers, foretells the terror and strength both of the armies signified by these locusts, and of the locusts themselves. As these then did, so the Assyrians, Chaldeans, or Babylonians should proceed in arms against this people.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–9 They shall run like mighty men,.... Like men of…
They shall run like mighty men,.... Like men of war, in a hostile way, as soldiers run upon their enemy with undaunted courage and bravery. Bochart from Pisidas describes the locusts' manner of fighting, who says, they strike not standing, but running:
they shall climb the wall like men of war; scale the walls of cities as besiegers do; walls and bulwarks cannot keep them out; all places are accessible to them, walled cities, towns, yea, even houses, Exo 10:6;
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and they shall march everyone on his ways; in his proper path, following one another, and keeping just distance:
and they shall not break their ranks; or "pervert their ways", as the word signifies in the Arabic language, as Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, observe; that is, decline not from their paths, as the Septuagint version; proceed in an orderly way, keep rank and file; so they are said to go forth in bands, Pro 30:27; and to encamp, Nah 3:17. Jerom on the text relates what he saw with his own eyes:
"this we lately saw (says he) in this province (Palestine); for when swarms of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew in such order, by the disposition and command of God, that they kept their place like chequered squares in a pavement fixed by the hands of artificers; so as not to decline a point, nor even I may say a nail's breadth;''
they keep as exact order as if military discipline was known and observed by them. Some render it, "they shall not ask their way" (n); being unconcerned about it, moving on in a direct line securely.
(n) "non interrogabunt isti ab illo de semitis suis", some in Vatablus, and others in Kimchi and Abendana.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Their ranks - This skill in ordering and the…
Their ranks - This skill in ordering and the steadiness in keeping under, exactly like trained soldiers, foretells the terror and strength of both the armies signified by these locusts, and of the locusts themselves.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Verse 7. Like mighty men-like men of war (and…
Verse 7. Like mighty men-like men of war (and as horsemen, Joe 2:4)] The prophet does not say they are such, but they resemble. They are locusts; but in their operations they are LIKE the above.
They shall not break their ranks] See the account on Joe 2:2, from Dr. Shaw.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 Joe 2:7-8. They shall run like mighty men —…
Joe 2:7-8. They shall run like mighty men — They shall proceed everywhere like stout and mighty men, who are afraid of nothing. The description here given agrees perfectly to locusts, as Bochart has shown. “First, They shall run. Now their manner of fighting is thus described: They strike, or wound, not as they stand, but as they run. Secondly, They run as mighty men. What are more innumerable or strong than locusts, says St. Jerome, which no human pains can resist? Thirdly, They shall march every one in his way, and not break their ranks: and in the next verse, Neither shall one thrust or press his comrade. St. Jerome, in his notes on this place, observes, ‘This we lately saw in our part of the country; for when swarms of locusts came and filled the lower region of the air, they flew in such order, by the divine appointment, and kept their places as exactly, as when several tiles, or party-coloured stones, are skilfully placed in a pavement, so as not to be a hair’s breadth out of their several ranks.’“ The same is observed by other writers cited by Bochart: and what is further remarkable, before the body of them come to any place, they send scouts and messengers, as it were, to view the ground, and measure it out for their use; as the same last-mentioned writer remarks from Sigibertus, concerning the locusts which destroyed France in the year 874. When they fall upon the sword they shall not be wounded — By reason of their lightness and nimbleness, and the hardness and smoothness of the outward coat of their skin. It “refers,” says Newcome, “to the scales with which locusts are covered as with a coat of mail.” “Most animals retreat at the sight of a man, but it is the reverse with locusts, for they will studiously attack. Where they collect in numbers, the inhabitants retire into their dwellings as fast as possible, lest by appearing abroad they might provoke their anger. They show no fear, and, from their slender shape, frequently elude the blow aimed at them.”
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–9 They shall run like mighty men - They are…
They shall run like mighty men - They are on God’s message, and they linger not, “but rejoice to run their course” Psa 19:5. “The height of walls cannot hinder the charge of the mighty; they enter not by the gates but over the walls” , as of a city taken by assault. People can mount a wall few at a time; the locusts scale much more steadily, more compactly, more determinately, and irresistibly. The picture unites the countless multitude, condensed march, and entire security of the locust with the might of warriors.
They shall march every one on his ways - There is something awful and majestic in the well-ordered flight of the winged locusts, or their march while yet unwinged. “This,” says Jerome, “we have seen lately in this province (Palestine). For when the hosts of locusts came, and filled the air between heaven and earth, they flew, by the disposal of God ordaining, in such order, as to hold each his place, like the minute pieces of mosaic, fixed in the pavement by the artist’s hands, so as not to incline to one another a hair’s breadth.” “You may see the locust,” says Theodoret, “like enemies, both mounting the walls, and marching on the roads, and not allowing itself to be dispersed by any violence, but making the assault by a sort of concert.” “It is said,” says Cyril, “that they go in rank, and fly as in array, and are not severed from each other, but attend one on the other, like sisters, nature infusing into them this mutual love.” : “They seemed to be impelled by one common instinct, and moved in one body, which had the appearance of being organized by a leader.” : “There is something frightful in the appearance of these locusts proceeding in divisions, some of which are a league in length and 200 paces in breadth.” : “They continued their journey, as if a signal had been actually given them to march.”
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So, of the young brood it is related; : “In June, their young broods begin gradually to make their appearance; no sooner were any of them hatched than they immediately collected themselves together, each of them forming a compact body of several hundred yards square, which, marching afterward directly forward, climbed over trees, walls and houses, ate up every plant in their way, “and let nothing escape them.” : “They seemed to march in regular battalions, crawling over everything that lay in their passage, in one straight front.” So the judgments of God hold on their course, each going straight to that person for whom God in the awful wisdom of His justice ordains it. No one judgment or chastisement comes by chance. Each is directed and adapted, weighed and measured, by Infinite Wisdom, and reaches just that soul, for which God appointed it, and no other, and strikes upon it with just that force which God ordains it. As we look on, God’s judgments are like a heavy sleet of arrows; yet as each arrow, shot truly, found the mark at which it was aimed, so, and much more, does each lesser or greater judgment, sent by God, reach the heart for which He sends it and pierces it just as deeply as He wills.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7–8 Ranks. Locusts march like a regular army. (Theodoret) ---…
Ranks. Locusts march like a regular army. (Theodoret) --- No fortification can keep them out. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One…
Depicting the regular military order of their advance, "One locust not turning a nail's breadth out of his own place in the march" [JEROME]. Compare Pro 30:27, "The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v7 7-10. The comparison with a well-equipped army is taken…
7-10. The comparison with a well-equipped army is taken up again and carried further; the advance is irresistible; there is no confusion or disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls; they penetrate the inmost recesses of the houses.
They… run — To the assault; advance, charge (Psa_18:29; Job_15:26). There is no delay (Joe_2:4); if they have decided upon a point of attack they carry out their plan; nothing can impede their progress; walls they climb like men of war. They do not get into one another’s way, they advance straight ahead, without turning to the right or left. An admirable description of the advance of locusts (compare remark on Joe_2:4). Jerome says: “When the swarms of locusts come and fill the whole atmosphere between earth and sky, they fly, according to the appointment of the commanding God, in such order that they preserve an exact shape, just like the squares drawn upon a tessellated pavement, not diverging on either side by, so to speak, so much as a finger’s breadth.… There is no road impassable to locusts; they penetrate into fields, and crops, and trees, and cities, and houses, and even the recesses of the bedchambers.” So also Theodoret: “You may see the locusts like a hostile army ascending the walls, and advancing the roads, not suffering any difficulty to disperse them, but steadily moving forward as if according to some concerted plan.”
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And when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded — Better, R.V., “and they burst through the weapons, and break not off their course.” No resistance is effective; they throw themselves upon the weapons and pass on without being disturbed or confused. Some may be wounded and drop, but the great mass continues in regular order. This is a better interpretation than that implied in the translation, “They did not cut themselves to pieces” (Keil), or “without being wounded” (Von Orelli). The verse would seem to imply that the people were accustomed to meet the locusts with weapons to fight them off; and that is actually done, according to the statements of some travelers. “Both in Asia and Europe they sometimes take the field against the locusts with all the implements of war” (Hasselquist). “The guard of the Red Town attempted to stop their irruption into Transylvania by firing at them; and indeed when the balls and shot went through the swarm they gave way and divided; but having filled up their ranks in a moment they proceeded on their journey” (quoted by Pusey). Thomson also speaks of the impossibility of stopping their progress: “We dug trenches and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps, but the effort was utterly hopeless.” Livy and Pliny seem to have known of similar methods of fighting the locusts.
Sword — R.V., “weapons”; Hebrews shelah; not the ordinary word for weapon, but one used only in late writings; it seems to have been a weapon that was extended or held in front.
Held back by nothing, the host (9) forces its way into the city.
They shall run to and fro in the city — Hebrews shaqaq; literally, drive, impel to run, then, run hither and thither; here not, “they run to and fro in the city” after mastering it (A.V., Driver, Hitzig), but “they throw themselves upon the city” (Isa_33:4; Nah_2:4). Again they are successful; they run upon the wall, yea, they get into the houses themselves. On Joe_2:9 Theodoret makes this comment: “And this we have frequently seen done, not merely by hostile armies but also by locusts, which not only when flying but by creeping along the walls penetrate into dwellings by the light holes.” “During the great plague of locusts in 1865 many inhabitants of Nazareth were compelled to leave their homes” (Riehm).
Windows — Glass was and still is exceedingly scarce in the Orient, therefore expensive and used but rarely for windows; the latter consist ordinarily of lattice work, and serve also as chimneys out of which smoke may escape; so it was quite easy for locusts to creep through.
Like a thief — Would hardly be said of a hostile army, but is true of the locusts.
With Joe_2:10 a new start is made. The whole earth is terrified, for it becomes clear that the judgment is of unusual significance. The thought of the day of Jehovah becomes more prominent and influences the description to a large extent.
Before them — The singular, as in Joe_2:6, while the verbs in the preceding verses referring to the locusts are in the plural; yet the pronoun refers undoubtedly to the swarm of locusts which are looked upon as a unit. The preposition is not the same as in Joe_2:6; in the latter causality is implied, here the phenomena spoken of may be regarded not as caused by the locusts, but simply accompanying them; it leaves it undecided whether the locusts of 2-9 or Jehovah (Joe_2:11) is the cause.
The earth shall quake… the heavens shall tremble — “It is not that the strength of the locusts is so great that it can move the heavens and shake the earth, but that, to those who suffer from such calamities, through the greatness of their own terror the heavens appear to shake and the earth to reel” (Jerome).
Shall be dark — Heb, kadhar, “coal black”; not a particle of light is to be seen. The day of Jehovah is inaugurated by extraordinary phenomena in the sphere of nature (Joe_2:30-31; Joe_3:15; Isa_13:10; Isa_13:13; Amo_8:9). The locusts do darken the sky, but here the reference seems to be to something more — we are in the sphere of the apocalyptic — to the approach of Jehovah himself, before whom all nature stands in awe and terror. The thought of an actual earthquake, eclipse, or severe thunderstorm may have been in the mind of the prophet; but this is not certain, though the coming of Jehovah is often pictured in the imagery of a storm (Psa_18:7 ff.). The whole is a vivid picture of the terror that overcomes man and nature when it is discovered that Jehovah approaches for judgment. Jehovah is the leader of the hosts.
Utter his voice — Of command; Hebrews nathan qol; a very common Old Testament expression to designate thunder. Only so can he make himself understood, because the camp is very great — It stretches far into the distance, and the noise made by the locusts must be drowned; it is this vastness of the army also that makes it necessary to have a divine commander. The introduction of the next two clauses with “for” rather weakens the message of the prophet; they should be translated as exclamations (G.-K., 148d), emphasizing the vastness of Jehovah’s army: “Yea, strong is he that executeth his word” — the army of locusts (2-9, 25), which carries out his command; “yea, the day of Jehovah.” Here again the day cannot be identified with the calamity already experienced; it is still in the future, though near at hand. Already the wonderful phenomena that announce the day are seen in the sky (Joe_2:31; Mal_4:5).
Who can abide — Or, endure. No one can stand its terrors. The forerunner has exhausted all resources, all strength. Complete annihilation threatens, unless somehow the final blow can be turned aside.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7–9 7. They run like mighty men] i.e. like warriors,…
7. They run like mighty men] i.e. like warriors, which is what the word (gibbôr) regularly denotes (2Sa_23:8; and comp. on Amo_2:14). To run means here to charge: cf. Psa_18:29; Job_15:26.
they climb the wall] viz. of the city which they essay to enter.
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they move along every one in his ways, and they entangle not their paths] i.e. they all march straight forward into the city (Jos_6:5); none crosses the path of his neighbour, so as to impede his advance.
entangle] יעבטון can hardly be rendered otherwise than lend on pledge, figuratively for interchange, which however would be here a very forced metaphor. It is better to read either יעבתון, which occurs Mic_7:3, and which, though the root is not otherwise known, may perhaps mean twist together, intertwine (cf. עבות a rope,?something twisted), or, with Wellh., יְעַוְּתוּן (and in Mic. וַיְעַוְּתוּהָ), which certainly would mean make crooked or twist (Ecc_7:13).
The steadiness and regularity which mark the advance of a body of locusts, when moving along the ground, has been often noticed: see below, pp. 88–90. Comp. Pro_30:27 “The locusts have no king; yet go they forth all of them in bands” (lit. divided).
7–9. The attack, anticipated by the peoples with alarm (Joe_2:6) now follows: the onward movement of the locusts is compared to that of a well-appointed army: nothing impedes their advance; there is no disorder in their ranks; they climb the highest walls, and penetrate into the strongest cities.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v7 (7-9) They shall run lite mighty men.—The onward irresistible…
(7-9) They shall run lite mighty men.—The onward irresistible march of the invaders is graphically described by the illustration of the advance of locusts. They appear on the mountains which environ the city, they mount the walls, they rush through the streets, they enter the houses, they are in possession of Jerusalem. Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, p. 416) describes the movements of a locust army in the following terms:—“Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came, like a living deluge. We dug trenches, and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps; but the effort was utterly useless. Wave after wave rolled up the mountain-side, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches, hedges—those behind covering up and bridging over the masses already killed.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–9 Vers. 7-9. The prophet, having mentioned the consternation and…
Vers. 7-9. The prophet, having mentioned the consternation and terror occasioned by the approach of locusts, proceeds to compare them to an army well equipped and overcoming all impediments.
They shall run like mighty men. This either refers to their extreme nimbleness or rapidity of motion (compare the Homeric podav wkuv podarkhv , and the like), or describes their running to an assault with intrepid valour and unwearied vigour. They shall climb the wall like men of war. This marks the success of their assault; they scale the walls and make good their attack. And they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks. Their march is as irresistible as it is orderly. In their onward march each pursues his way, allowing no obstacle to arrest or retard his course; while in a collective body they proceed and maintain their serried ranks unbroken. The verb fb is probably cognate with tb, to twist, and thus to turn aside. Thus the LXX: "They shall not turn aside their tracks;" so also the Syriac and Jerome translate it; but the Chaldee compares it with fwb, a pledge, and, as the deposit is detained till the pledge is redeemed, takes in the meaning of delay. Rosenmuller explains it in the sense of change or exchange, from the Qal, signifying "to receive on loan," and the Hiph., "to give on loan." Otherwise it is to "interweave" (equivalent to tb), "change." The sense of the whole is their not diverging to either side, nor straggling out of rank.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v8 Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every…
Joe_2:8
Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path.
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Order is heavens first law
Reference is to the orderly march of locusts. Note the order which reigns throughout the whole of Gods world. After this fashion there should be order and arrangement in the Christian Church. Note the order of the movements of the heavenly bodies. The same law holds good with the whole animal creation. There is also order in the providence of God. An the events in our own little lives are marching straight on to a gracious consummation. We may rise higher; we may think of God Himself. We may say of all His attributes, neither doth one thrust another, but each one walketh in his path. The same order is perceptible in the doctrines of the Word. Doctrines which look as if they contradicted each other, are nevertheless fully agreed. Apply the lesson to the Christian life. We should remember that our thoughts, graces, and actions, ought all to keep their proper position. We ought to endeavour, as God shall teach us by His Spirit, to keep our thoughts of Gods Word in their due harmony. Doctrine is not all that is taught in the Word, there are duties and promises also. The same should hold good in the graces which we cultivate. The same proportions and balancings should be found in our Christian duties. God would have us attend to all duties. The difficulty is often felt as to how much is due to diligence in business, and how much to fervency in spirit. Each one must decide and draw the line for himself. There is a greater difficulty with regard to the arrangement of distinct duties, when they are likely to run counter to one another. What is true in the little commonwealth of the heart and home, ought also to be true of the Church at large. There are different orders of workers, and these must co-operate. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The army of the locusts
I. They are very bold and daring. Some of the ancients have observed that the head of a locust is very like in shape to the head of a horse.
2. Very loud and noisy. Like the noise of chariots, of many chariots, when driven furiously over rough ground. Historians tell us that the noise made by swarms of locusts in those countries that are infested with them has sometimes been heard six miles off. The noise is compared to that of a roaring fire.
3. They are very regular, and keep ranks in their march. They shall march every one on his ways, straight forward, as if they had been trained up by the discipline of war to keep their post and observe their right-hand man. Their number and swiftness shall breed no confusion. See how God can make creatures to act by rule that have no reason to act by, when He designs to serve His own purposes by them. And see how necessary it is that those who are employed in any service for God should observe order and keep rank, should diligently go on in their own work, and not stand in one anothers way. (Matthew Henry.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v8 General Information:
General Information:
The description of the locust army of Yahweh continues.
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they break through the defenses
they overcome the soldiers defending the city.
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v7 2:7-9 The locusts would invade urban as well as…
2:7-9 The locusts would invade urban as well as agricultural areas, advancing like a disciplined, well-trained army to scale city walls and swarm over the city. Finding every means of entrance, they would even climb like thieves through the windows.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.