Read this if you…
- want the source for 'I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh' — the verse Peter quotes at Pentecost in Acts
- like a prophet who reads a literal swarm of locusts as a sign of cosmic judgment
- care about the original Day of the Lord imagery — sun darkened, moon to blood, the language behind every apocalyptic vision since
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Why It Matters
Joel's promise that God would pour out his Spirit on 'all flesh' is the passage Peter quoted at Pentecost (Acts 2) to explain the birth of the Church. That makes one short prophetic book one of the more consequential in Christian history.
Depicted in Art
Joel sits frontally on a marble throne, intently reading an unfurled scroll across his lap; two young attendants whisper behind him.
Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1509
Life-size soapstone Joel stands on the staircase parapet, robes swirling around him, head thrust forward, an unfurled phylactery in hand.
Aleijadinho, 1805
Standing turbaned Joel in heavy Middle Eastern striped robes, gesturing as he prophesies, rendered with Tissot's ethnographic detail.
James Tissot, 1900
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Oxford University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Deep Dive
What It's About
This summary gives away plot details.
Notable Quotes
“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.”