Author
Joel
Prophet
Written
c. 835–796 BC
Chapters
3
Audience
The people of Judah and Jerusalem
A catastrophic locust plague unlike anything in living memory devastates the land
Chapter 1Read in Bible
Joel calls all people — drunkards, farmers, and priests — to mourn and cry out to God
Chapter 1 → Chapter 5Read in Bible
The locust army is depicted as a foretaste of the terrifying Day of the Lord
Chapter 2 → Chapter 1Read in Bible
God urgently calls the nation to genuine, wholehearted repentance and communal prayer
Chapter 2 → Chapter 12Read in Bible
God promises to restore the land, repay the years the locusts have eaten, and vindicate his people
Chapter 2 → Chapter 18Read in Bible
God promises to pour out his Spirit on all people and provide deliverance for all who call on his name
Chapter 2 → Chapter 28Read in Bible
God declares final judgment on the nations gathered in the Valley of Jehoshaphat for their sins against Israel
Chapter 3 → Chapter 1Read in Bible
God promises the eternal blessing, security, and holiness of Zion as his dwelling place among his people
Chapter 3 → Chapter 17Read in Bible
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity."
Joel 2:13"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."
Joel 2:28"And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls."
Joel 2:32"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten — the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you."
Joel 2:25Joel uses a devastating locust plague as a springboard to call Judah to genuine repentance and to warn of the coming, far greater 'Day of the Lord.' The book moves from lament and urgent appeal to powerful promises of restoration, culminating in the outpouring of God's Spirit on all people and ultimate judgment on the nations in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Theologically, Joel bridges immediate historical crisis and eschatological hope, making it foundational for New Testament teaching on Pentecost and the end times.