Read the Bible
KING JAMES BIBLE · PCE

Joel 2:3

TEXT EDITION
Pure Cambridge Edition selected
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.
Share
Email linkOpen a new message in your email app
Read chapterReport issue
More

PASSAGE SELECTION

Build from either side

1 selected · 31 available

Add or remove verses within this chapter. The study tools update with the selected passage.

SCRIPTURE WITH SCRIPTURE

Cross References

All 13 ranked passages are available for comparison.

From verse 3

  1. Isaiah 51:3Rank 1 from verse 3
    Open

    3For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

  2. Genesis 2:8Rank 2 from verse 3
    Open

    8¶ And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

  3. Joel 1:19–20Rank 3 from verse 3
    Open

    19O Lord, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field.

    20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

  4. Zechariah 7:14Rank 4 from verse 3
    Open

    14But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations whom they knew not. Thus the land was desolate after them, that no man passed through nor returned: for they laid the pleasant land desolate.

  5. Amos 7:4Rank 5 from verse 3
    Open

    4¶ Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

  6. Psalms 50:3Rank 6 from verse 3
    Open

    3Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

  7. Exodus 10:15Rank 7 from verse 3
    Open

    15For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

  8. Exodus 10:5Rank 8 from verse 3
    Open

    5And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:

  9. Ezekiel 31:8–9Rank 9 from verse 3
    Open

    8The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.

    9I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.

  10. Genesis 13:10Rank 10 from verse 3
    Open

    10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.

  11. Jeremiah 5:17Rank 11 from verse 3
    Open

    17And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

  12. Joel 1:4–7Rank 12 from verse 3
    Open

    4That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

    5Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

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

    7He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

  13. Psalms 105:34–35Rank 13 from verse 3
    Open

    34He spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillers, and that without number,

    35And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

WORDS IN THIS PASSAGE

Definitions

Open a word for its full definition and concordance.

DEFINED WORDS

Joel 2:3

COMBINED MEANING

fire

↗

Burning flame and heat that gives light, consumes, purifies, or destroys.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

before

↗

Earlier than in time; in front of; in the presence of; or prior in order or rank.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

behind

↗

Sense 1: At or toward the back or rear of a person, place, or thing; following after. Sense 2: Remaining or left after another has departed or died. Sense 3: Inferior, deficient, or falling short in relation to another.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

flame

↗

1. The visible, rising blaze of a fire, which may burn, kindle, or consume. 2. Something likened to such a blaze.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

land

↗

Sense 1: The ground or earth; a country, territory, or region. Sense 2: To set or come on shore.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

Eden

↗

Sense 1: The region in which the LORD planted the garden where he placed the man. Sense 2: A personal or place name borne by other persons or locations in later passages.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Bullokar 1616 · Cawdrey 1604

COMBINED MEANING

desolate

↗

1. Of a place or land, left empty, uninhabited, waste, ruined, barren, or without former use and fruitfulness. 2. Of a person or people, bereft, forsaken, solitary, or left without help, comfort, family, or support. 3. As a verb, to make empty, waste, ruined, or bereft.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Cawdrey 1604

COMBINED MEANING

wilderness

↗

Uncultivated, desolate, sparsely inhabited, or uninhabited land; a desert, wild country, or solitary region.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

yea

↗

1. Indeed, marking confirmation, emphasis, addition, continuation, or heightening of what is said; it may also emphasize a question. 2. Yes, expressing an affirmative answer or declaration.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

COMBINED MEANING

shall

↗

An auxiliary verb expressing future action, intention, promise, command, requirement, or determination.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references · Webster 1828

COMBINED MEANING

escape

↗

To flee from and avoid; to get out of the way; to shun; to obtain security from; to pass without harm.

Meaning drawn from: KJV context and cross-references

READ THE PASSAGE

View in context

Nearby verses · passage boundary unavailable · Joel 2:2–4

The selected passage is highlighted. Context is a study aid.

2:2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.

2:3A 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.

Selected passage

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

LOCAL PASTOR DIRECTORY

Ask a Pastor Near You

Enter a U.S. ZIP code to find nearby pastors committed to holding fast the faithful word.

Your ZIP is processed in this browser from local data. It is not sent to a ZIP lookup service or to a church. ZIP coordinates from GeoNames, licensed under CC BY 4.0.