Joel 1:6 For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

◄ Joel 1:6 ►

New International Version
A nation has invaded my land, a mighty army without number; it has the teeth of a lion, the fangs of a lioness.

New Living Translation
A vast army of locusts has invaded my land, a terrible army too numerous to count. Its teeth are like lions’ teeth, its fangs like those of a lioness.

English Standard Version
For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.

Berean Standard Bible
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

King James Bible
For 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.

New King James Version
For a nation has come up against My land, Strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he has the fangs of a fierce lion.

New American Standard Bible
For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the jaws of a lioness.

NASB 1995
For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

NASB 1977
For a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

Legacy Standard Bible
For a nation has come up against my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

Amplified Bible
For a [pagan and hostile] nation has invaded My land [like locusts], Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.

Christian Standard Bible
For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness.

American Standard Version
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

Contemporary English Version
A powerful nation with countless troops has invaded our land. They have the teeth and jaws of powerful lions.

English Revised Version
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the jaw teeth of a great lion.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
A strong nation attacked my land. It has too many soldiers to count. They have teeth like lions. They have fangs like grown lions.

Good News Translation
An army of locusts has attacked our land; they are powerful and too many to count; their teeth are as sharp as those of a lion.

International Standard Version
Indeed, a nation has invaded my land— it is strong and its population is too large to count — with teeth like a lion and fangs like a lioness.

Majority Standard Bible
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.

NET Bible
For a nation has invaded our land. There are so many of them they are too numerous to count. Their teeth are like those of a lion; they tear apart their prey like a lioness.

New Heart English Bible
For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.

Webster's Bible Translation
For 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.

World English Bible
For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness.

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
For a nation has come up on My land, "" Strong, and there is no number, "" Its teeth [are] the teeth of a lion, "" And it has the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

Young's Literal Translation
For a nation hath come up on my land, Strong, and there is no number, Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

Smith's Literal Translation
For a nation came up upon my land, strong, and no number; his teeth the teeth of a lion, and a biter's teeth of the lioness to him.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
For a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number: his teeth are like the teeth of a lion: and his cheek teeth as of a lion's whelp.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For a nation has ascended over my land: strong and without number. His teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his molars are like that of a lion’s young.

New American Bible
For a nation invaded my land, powerful and past counting, With teeth like a lion’s, fangs like those of a lioness.

New Revised Standard Version
For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
A nation has come up against my land, strong, and without number; whose teeth are like the teeth of a lion, and his fangs as the fangs of a lion's whelp.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because a people went up to my strong land, and there are no numbers to its teeth, as the teeth of a lion, and its fangs as the fangs of a whelp of a lion

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
For a people is come up upon my land, Mighty, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, And he hath the jaw-teeth of a lioness.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For a strong and innumerable nation is come up against my land, their teeth are lion's teeth, and their back teeth those of a lion's whelp.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

The Invasion of Locusts
…5Wake up, you drunkards, and weep; wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine, for it has been cut off from your mouth. 6For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness. 7It has laid waste My grapevine and splintered My fig tree. It has stripped off the bark and thrown it away; the branches have turned white.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Revelation 9:7-10
And the locusts looked like horses prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold on their heads; and their faces were like the faces of men. / They had hair like that of women, and teeth like those of lions. / They also had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses and chariots rushing into battle. ...

Jeremiah 5:17
They will devour your harvest and food; they will consume your sons and daughters; they will eat up your flocks and herds; they will feed on your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust.”

Isaiah 5:29-30
Their roaring is like that of a lion; they roar like young lions. They growl and seize their prey; they carry it away, and no one can rescue it. / In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea. If one looks over the land, he will see darkness and distress; even the light will be obscured by clouds.

Amos 4:9
“I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

Nahum 3:15-17
There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust! / You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away. / Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.

Deuteronomy 28:42
Swarms of locusts will consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

Exodus 10:14-15
The locusts swarmed across the land and settled over the entire territory of Egypt. Never before had there been so many locusts, and never again will there be. / They covered the face of all the land until it was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left behind. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant in all the land of Egypt.

Judges 6:5
For the Midianites came with their livestock and their tents like a great swarm of locusts. They and their camels were innumerable, and they entered the land to ravage it.

Jeremiah 46:23
They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD, dense though it may be, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted.

Isaiah 33:4
Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.

Psalm 105:34-35
He spoke, and the locusts came—young locusts without number. / They devoured every plant in their land and consumed the produce of their soil.

Revelation 9:3-4
And out of the smoke, locusts descended on the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. / They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

Isaiah 7:18-19
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria. / And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and clefts of the rocks, in all the thornbushes and watering holes.

Jeremiah 51:14
The LORD of Hosts has sworn by Himself: “Surely I will fill you up with men as with locusts, and they will shout in triumph over you.”

Proverbs 30:25-27
The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; / the rock badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their homes in the rocks; / the locusts have no king, yet they all advance in formation;

Treasury of Scripture

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

nation.

Joel 2:2-11,25
A 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…

Proverbs 30:25-27
The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; …

my.

Psalm 107:34
A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.

Isaiah 8:8
And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.

Isaiah 32:13
Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city:

whose.

Proverbs 30:14
There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.

Revelation 9:7-10
And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men…

Jump to Previous

Cheek Fangs Great Invaded Jaw-Teeth Lion Mighty Nation Powerful Strong Teeth

Jump to Next

Cheek Fangs Great Invaded Jaw-Teeth Lion Mighty Nation Powerful Strong Teeth

Joel 1

1. Joel, declaring various judgments of God, exhorts to observe them,
8. and to mourn.
14. He prescribes a solemn fast to deprecate those judgments.

Berean Study Bible

For a nation has invaded My land
The phrase "For a nation" refers to a formidable and organized group, often interpreted as an army or a swarm of locusts in the context of Joel. The Hebrew word for "nation" is "goy," which can denote a foreign people or a non-Israelite group. This invasion is not merely a physical occupation but a divine judgment upon the land. "My land" emphasizes God's ownership and covenant relationship with Israel. The land is not just a geographical location but a sacred space given by God to His people. This invasion serves as a wake-up call for the Israelites to return to God and seek His mercy.

powerful and without number
The description "powerful and without number" highlights the overwhelming and unstoppable nature of the invaders. The Hebrew word for "powerful" is "atsum," which conveys strength and might. This suggests that the invaders are not only numerous but also formidable in their ability to cause destruction. The phrase "without number" indicates an innumerable multitude, echoing the imagery of locust swarms that cover the land and devour everything in their path. This serves as a metaphor for the totality of the devastation and the need for divine intervention.

its teeth are the teeth of a lion
The imagery of "teeth of a lion" conveys ferocity and the capacity to cause great harm. In the ancient Near East, lions were symbols of power and fearlessness. The Hebrew word "ari" for "lion" underscores the predatory nature of the invaders. This metaphor suggests that the destruction is not only widespread but also deeply wounding, leaving lasting scars on the land and its people. The lion's teeth symbolize the thoroughness with which the invaders consume and destroy, leaving nothing behind.

and its fangs are those of a lioness
The addition of "fangs are those of a lioness" intensifies the imagery of destruction. The lioness, known for her hunting prowess and protective nature, adds a layer of relentless pursuit and aggression. The Hebrew word "lavi" for "lioness" emphasizes the completeness of the devastation, as lionesses are known for their role in hunting and providing for the pride. This imagery serves as a stark warning of the severity of God's judgment and the urgent need for repentance and return to covenant faithfulness.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) A nation.--It was not uncommon with Hebrew writers to apply the name people or folk to animals, as, "The ants are a people not strong;" "The conies are but a feeble folk" (Proverbs 30:25-26); but the word used by Joel is different from that in the Proverbs. He selected a word indicative of foreign nations, suggestive of attack, including both the irrational invader and the foreign conqueror. The surpassing strength of the nation is indicated by the extraordinary power of the locust's teeth, compared to that of the lion's jaws. The same comparison is made by St. John (Revelation 9:8): "Their teeth (the locusts) were as the teeth of lions."

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - For a nation is come up upon my land, strong and without number. The loss of the wine and of the sweet juice of the grape would be a source of genuine sorrow to the drinkers of wine; that loss would be occasioned by the destruction of the vines. In this and the following verse the prophet explains the instrumentality by which that destruction would be brought about. The prophet, fully identifying himself with his countrymen, speaking in their name and as their representative, says "my land." Kimchi understands the suffix to "land," like "my vine" and "my fig tree" in the next verse, as referring either to the prophet himself or to the people of the land; while some refer it to Jehovah, the great Proprietor, who had given the land to his people for their inheritance while they observed his covenant and obeyed his commandments. The locusts ore called a nation, just as the "ants are a people not strong," and the "conies are" said to be "but a feeble folk." Kimchi lays that "every collection of living things is called a nation (qoy); accordingly the prophet applies 'nation' to the locust." Nor deem the weed "nation" thus applied support the allegorical sense any more than the Homeric -

"Even as go the swarms [literally nations]
of closely thronging bees." This army of locusts is characterized by the two qualities of strength and number. The preterite עָלָה, though past, really refers to the future, to express the certain occurrence of what is predicted; so with שָׂם in the following verse, of which Kimchi says, "The past is in place of the future;" and Aben Ezra more fully, "A thing that is decreed to take place is spoken of in the past." This army has peculiar weapons, yet nothing the less powerful. Whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek-teeth of a great lion; or, lioness. Different descriptive terms are applied to lions - the lion's whelp is גּוּר; the young lion, which, though young, is no longer a whelp, is כְּפִיר; also the lion, from its hoarseness at a certain age, is called שַׁחַלֹ; the lion, from its cry, is called by onomatopoeia, לָבִיּא; the lion, from its strength, is called לַיִשׁ; while the common name of a lion, derived probably from אָרָה, to pluck or tear, is אַרְיֵה. Having compared the invading locusts to an army powerful and countless, the prophet proceeds to speak of the weapons wielded by these warlike and hostile invaders. They are their teeth. While the common name for locust respects their multitude, the other names are of the nature of epithets, and all, as we have seen, derived from the vigour and voracity with which they use their teeth. Those teeth, so destructive, are compared to those of a lion and the molars or grinders of a great, stout, old lion or lioness, for the word has been translated in each of these ways.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

a nation
גוֹי֙ (ḡō·w)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1471: A foreign nation, a Gentile, a troop of animals, a flight of locusts

has invaded
עָלָ֣ה (‘ā·lāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

My land,
אַרְצִ֔י (’ar·ṣî)
Noun - feminine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

powerful
עָצ֖וּם (‘ā·ṣūm)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 6099: Powerful, numerous

and without
וְאֵ֣ין (wə·’ên)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb
Strong's 369: A non-entity, a negative particle

number;
מִסְפָּ֑ר (mis·pār)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4557: A number, definite, indefinite, narration

its teeth
שִׁנָּיו֙ (šin·nāw)
Noun - cdc | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8127: A tooth, ivory, a cliff

are [those]
שִׁנֵּ֣י (šin·nê)
Noun - cdc
Strong's 8127: A tooth, ivory, a cliff

of a lion,
אַרְיֵ֔ה (’ar·yêh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 738: A lion

and its fangs
וּֽמְתַלְּע֥וֹת (ū·mə·ṯal·lə·‘ō·wṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 4973: A biter, a tooth

[are those] of a lioness.
לָבִ֖יא (lā·ḇî)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3833: To roar, a lion,

Links

Joel 1:6 NIV
Joel 1:6 NLT
Joel 1:6 ESV
Joel 1:6 NASB
Joel 1:6 KJV

Joel 1:6 BibleApps.com
Joel 1:6 Biblia Paralela
Joel 1:6 Chinese Bible
Joel 1:6 French Bible
Joel 1:6 Catholic Bible

OT Prophets: Joel 1:6 For a nation has come up (Jl Joe.)