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THE MESSAGE

Joel 2:25

"I'll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation— Locusts savage, locusts deadly, fierce locusts, locusts of doom, That great locust invasion I sent your way. You'll eat your fill of good food. You'll be full of praises to your God , The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder. Never again will my people be despised. You'll know without question that I'm in the thick of life with Israel, That I'm your God , yes, your God , the one and only real God. Never again will my people be despised.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Cankerworm;   Caterpillar;   Palmer-Worm;   Thompson Chain Reference - Agriculture;   Agriculture-Horticulture;   Cankerworm;   Caterpillars;   Palmerworm;   The Topic Concordance - Israel/jews;   Knowledge;   Praise;   Satisfaction;   Shame;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Locust, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Joel;   Prophecy, prophet;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Wealth;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Cankerworm;   Caterpillar;   Palmer-Worm;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Joel;   Locust;   Palmerworm;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Cankerworm;   Caterpillar;   Insects;   Joel;   Palmerworm;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Apocalyptic Literature;   Day of the Lord;   Joel, Book of;   Locust;   Shame;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Locust;   King James Dictionary - Army;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Cankerworm,;   Caterpiller;   Palmer-Worm;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Cankerworm;   Palmer-worm;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Palmer-Worm;   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Army;   Caterpillar;   Palmer worm;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Canker-Worm;   Caterpillar;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Judah;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Canker-Worm;   Joel (2);   Locust;   Palmer-Worm;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - New-Year for Trees;   Shabbat Shubah;  

Devotionals:

- Faith's Checkbook - Devotion for May 18;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I will repay you for the yearsthat the swarming locust ate,the young locust, the destroying locust,and the devouring locust—my great army that I sent against you.
Hebrew Names Version
I will restore to you the years that the swarming arbeh has eaten, The great arbeh, the khagav, and the caterpillar, My great army, which I sent among you.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
New American Standard Bible
"Then I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you.
New Century Version
"Though I sent my great army against you— those swarming locusts and hopping locusts, the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts that ate your crops— I will pay you back for those years of trouble.
Amplified Bible
"And I will compensate you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust— My great army which I sent among you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And I will render you the yeeres that the grashopper hath eaten, the canker worme and the caterpiller and the palmer worme, my great hoste which I sent among you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then I will make up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you.
Legacy Standard Bible
"Then I will pay back to you in full for the yearsThat the swarming locust has consumed,The creeping locust, the stripping locust, and the gnawing locust,My great military force which I sent among you.
Berean Standard Bible
I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts-the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust-My great army that I sent against you.
Contemporary English Version
I, the Lord your God, will make up for the losses caused by those swarms and swarms of locusts I sent to attack you.
Complete Jewish Bible
"I will restore to you the years that the locusts ate, the grasshoppers, shearer-worms and cutter-worms, my great army that I sent against you.
Darby Translation
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
Easy-to-Read Version
"I, the Lord, sent my army against you. The swarming locusts and the hopping locusts and the destroying locusts and the cutting locusts ate everything you had. But I will pay you back for those years of trouble.
George Lamsa Translation
And I will recompense you for the years that the locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the cankerworm, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent against you.
Good News Translation
I will give you back what you lost in the years when swarms of locusts ate your crops. It was I who sent this army against you.
Lexham English Bible
I will repay you the years that the locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my mighty troops that I sent against you.
Literal Translation
And I will restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten, the locust larvae, and the stripping locust, and the cutting locust, My great army which I sent among you.
American Standard Version
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
Bible in Basic English
I will give back to you the years which were food for the locust, the plant-worm, the field-fly, and the worm, my great army which I sent among you.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpiller, and the palmer-worm, My great army which I sent among you.
King James Version (1611)
And I will restore to you the yeeres that the locust hath eaten, the canker worme, and the caterpiller, and the palmer worme, my great armie which I sent among you.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And I wyll restore to you the yeres which the grashopper, the canker worme, the locust, and the caterpiller haue deuoured, my great armie which I sent amongst you.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And I will recompense you for the years which the locust, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, and the cankerworm have eaten, even my great army, which I sent against you.
English Revised Version
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.
World English Bible
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, My great army, which I sent among you.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Y schal yelde to you the yeris whiche the locuste, bruke, and rust, and wort worm, my greet strengthe, eet, which Y sente in to you.
Update Bible Version
And I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
Webster's Bible Translation
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you.
New English Translation
I will make up for the years that the ‘arbeh-locust consumed your crops— the yeleq-locust, the hasil-locust, and the gazam-locust— my great army that I sent against you.
New King James Version
"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,The crawling locust,The consuming locust,And the chewing locust, Joel 1:4 ">[fn] My great army which I sent among you.
New Living Translation
The Lord says, "I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
New Life Bible
"I will pay you back for the years that your food was eaten by the flying locust, the jumping locust, the destroying locust, and the chewing locust, My large army which I sent among you.
New Revised Standard
I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then will I make good to you the years which were eaten by the swarming locust, the grass locust, and the corn locust and the creeping locust, - even my great army, which I sent among you.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will restore to you the years which the locust, and the bruchus, and the mildew, and the palmerworm hath eaten; my great host which I sent upon you.
Revised Standard Version
I will restore to you the years which the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
Young's Literal Translation
And I have recompensed to you the years That consume did the locust, the cankerworm, And the caterpillar, and the palmer-worm, My great force that I did send against you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And as for the yeares that ye gre?shopper, locuste, blasstinge & caterpiller (my greate hoost, which I sent amonge you) haue eaten vp, I shal restore them to you agayne:

Contextual Overview

18At that, God went into action to get his land back. He took pity on his people. God answered and spoke to his people, "Look, listen—I'm sending a gift: Grain and wine and olive oil. The fast is over—eat your fill! I won't expose you any longer to contempt among the pagans. I'll head off the final enemy coming out of the north and dump them in a wasteland. Half of them will end up in the Dead Sea, the other half in the Mediterranean. There they'll rot, a stench to high heaven. The bigger the enemy, the stronger the stench!" 21Fear not, Earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things. Fear not, wild animals! The fields and meadows are greening up. The trees are bearing fruit again: a bumper crop of fig trees and vines! Children of Zion, celebrate! Be glad in your God . He's giving you a teacher to train you how to live right— Teaching, like rain out of heaven, showers of words to refresh and nourish your soul, just as he used to do. And plenty of food for your body—silos full of grain, casks of wine and barrels of olive oil. 25"I'll make up for the years of the locust, the great locust devastation— Locusts savage, locusts deadly, fierce locusts, locusts of doom, That great locust invasion I sent your way. You'll eat your fill of good food. You'll be full of praises to your God , The God who has set you back on your heels in wonder. Never again will my people be despised. You'll know without question that I'm in the thick of life with Israel, That I'm your God , yes, your God , the one and only real God. Never again will my people be despised.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: Joel 2:2-11, Joel 1:4-7, Zechariah 10:6

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:4 - locusts Exodus 10:5 - the residue Exodus 10:15 - For they Deuteronomy 28:38 - for the locust 1 Samuel 6:5 - mice 1 Kings 8:37 - in the land famine 2 Chronicles 6:28 - locusts 2 Chronicles 7:13 - I command Psalms 78:46 - gave also Psalms 105:34 - the locusts Proverbs 30:27 - The locusts Isaiah 13:4 - the Lord Isaiah 33:4 - the running Jeremiah 46:23 - because Jeremiah 51:14 - as with Joel 1:6 - nation Joel 2:11 - his army Amos 4:9 - the palmerworm Amos 7:1 - he Nahum 3:15 - it Matthew 22:7 - his Revelation 9:3 - locusts

Cross-References

Genesis 2:10
A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers. The first is named Pishon; it flows through Havilah where there is gold. The gold of this land is good. The land is also known for a sweet-scented resin and the onyx stone. The second river is named Gihon; it flows through the land of Cush. The third river is named Hiddekel and flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.
Genesis 3:7
Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
Exodus 32:25
Moses saw that the people were simply running wild—Aaron had let them run wild, disgracing themselves before their enemies. He took up a position at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is on God 's side, join me!" All the Levites stepped up.
Psalms 25:3
I've thrown in my lot with you; You won't embarrass me, will you? Or let my enemies get the best of me? Don't embarrass any of us Who went out on a limb for you. It's the traitors who should be humiliated.
Isaiah 44:9
All those who make no-god idols don't amount to a thing, and what they work so hard at making is nothing. Their little puppet-gods see nothing and know nothing—they're total embarrassments! Who would bother making gods that can't do anything, that can't "god"? Watch all the no-god worshipers hide their faces in shame. Watch the no-god makers slink off humiliated when their idols fail them. Get them out here in the open. Make them face God-reality.
Mark 8:38
"If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I'm leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you'll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels."
Romans 10:11
Scripture reassures us, "No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it." It's exactly the same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. "Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!' gets help."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten,.... Or "I will recompense to you the years" m; give you fruitful ones, as a full compensation for those in which the locust ate up the fruits of the earth for some years running:

the canker worm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer worm; of which see Joel 1:4;

my great army which I sent among you; as in Joel 2:11; the Targum of the whole is,

"and I will recompense unto you good years, in the room of the years in which the people, nations, and tongues, the governors and kingdoms of vengeance, spoiled you, my great army which I sent among you;''

and Kimchi observes, that the sense of the Targumist is, that this verse is a prophecy of the days of the Messiah; as no doubt it is, in which the Lord has done for his people, as Moses prayed he would, "make [them] glad according to the days wherein [he] afflicted [them], and the years wherein [they had] seen evil", Psalms 90:15; the times of the Messiah, in which so many good things come to the people of God, are a sufficient recompence for what they endured in times past. Of the Mahometan notion of locusts being the army of God,

Psalms 90:15- :.

m ושלמתי לכם "et rependam vobis", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Vatablus, Tarnovius "compensabo", Grotius, Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten - The order in which these destroyers are named not being the same as before, it is plain that the stress is not on the order, but on the successiveness of the inroads, scourge after scourge. It is plain too that they did not come in the same year, or two years, but year after year, for he says, not “year,” but in the plural, “years.” The locusts, although not the whole plague, intended, are not excluded. : “As the power of God was shewn in the plagues of Egypt by small animals, such as the cyniphes, gnats so small as scarce to be seen, so also now,” in creatures so small “is shown the power of God and weakness of man. If a creature so small is stronger than man, “why are earth and ashes proud?” The locusts, small as they are, are in God’s hands “a great army,” (and from this place probably, Muhammed taught his followers so to call them) and mighty empires are but “the forces of God and messengers of His Providence for the punishing of” His people “by them,” “the rod of His Anger;” and when they have done their commission and are cast away by Him, they are as the vilest worms.

: “Since then after repentance God promises such richness, what will Novatus say, who denies repentance or that sinners can be reformed into their former state, if they but do works meet for repentance? For God in such wise receives penitents, as to call them His people, and to say, that they “shall never be confounded,” and to promise, that He will dwell in the midst of them, and that they shall have no other God, but shall, with their whole mind, trust in Him who abides in them forever.”

Through repentance all which had been lost by sin, is restored. In itself deadly sin is an irreparable evil. It deprives the soul of grace, of its hope of glory; it forfeits heaven, it merits hell. God, through Christ, restores the sinner, blots out sin, and does away with its eternal consequences. He replaces the sinner where he was before he fell. So God says by Ezekiel; “If the wicked will turn from all the sins which he hath committed and keep all My statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die; all his transgressions that he hath committed shall not be mentioned unto him” Ezekiel 18:21-22; and, “as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness” Ezekiel 33:12. God forgives that wickedness, as though it had never been. If it had never been, man would have all the grace, which he had before his fall.

So then also, after he has been forgiven, none of his former grace, no store of future glory, will be taken from him. The time which the sinner lost, in which he might have gained increase of grace and glory, is lost forever. But all which he had gained before, returns. All his lost love returns through penitence; all his past attainments, which were before accepted by God, are accepted still for the same glory. “Former works which were deadened by sins following, revive through repentance” . The penitent begins anew God’s service, but he is not at the beginning of that service, nor of his preparation for life eternal. If the grace which he had before, and the glory corresponding to that grace, and to his former attainments through that grace, were lost to him, then, although eternally blessed, he would be punished eternally for forgiven sin, which, God has promised, should “not be remembered.”

God has also promised to reward all which is “done in the body 2 Corinthians 5:10. What is evil, is effaced by the Blood of Jesus. What, through His Grace, was good, and done for love of Himself, He rewards, whether it was before anyone fell, or after his restoration. Else He would not, as He says He will, reward all. And who would not believe, that, after David’s great fall and great repentance, God still rewarded all that great early simple faith and patience, which He gave him? Whence writers of old say , “It is pious to believe that the recovered grace of God which destroys a man’s former evils, also reintegrates his good, and that God, when He hath destroyed in a man what is not His, loves the good which He implanted even in the sinner.” : “God is pleased alike with the virtue of the just, and the meet repentance of sinners, which restored to their former estate David and Peter.” “Penitence is an excellent thing which recalleth to perfection every defect.” : “God letteth His sun arise on sinners, nor doth He less than before, give them, most large gifts of life and salvation.”

Whence, since the cankerworm, etc. are images of spiritual enemies, this place has been paraphrased ; “I will not allow the richness of spiritual things to perish which ye lost through the passions of the mind.” Nay, since none can recover without the grace of God and using that grace, the penitent, who really rises again by the grace of God, rises with larger grace than before, since he has both the former grace, and; in addition, this new grace, whereby he rises.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 25. I will restore - the years — It has already been remarked that the locusts not only destroyed the produce of that year, but so completely ate up all buds, and barked the trees, that they did not recover for some years. Here God promises that he would either prevent or remedy that evil; for he would restore the years that the locusts, cankerworm, caterpillar, and palmerworm had eaten.


 
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