Bible Strands
Joel 2:15
Blow the ram’s horn in Zion, consecrate a fast, proclaim a sacred assembly.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet Joel issues a command to the leadership of Judah to initiate a national response to impending crisis. He directs the inhabitants of Zion to sound a warning trumpet and gather for communal repentance.
The words — The command opens with תִּקְעוּ (tik.'U), literally "give a blast," applied to a שׁוֹפָר (sho.Far), a ram’s horn used for official proclamations. It continues with קַדְּשׁוּ (ka.de.shu), meaning "consecrate," paired with צוֹם (Tzom), a formal fast.
The thread — This directive repeats the fast proclamation in Joel 1:14 and mirrors the trumpet call that gathers Israel in Numbers 10:3. It follows the same national mourning pattern when a fast was proclaimed in 1 Kings 21:12.
Why it lands — The text demands immediate public action through ritual warning and fasting. It requires the community to halt ordinary life and assemble in Zion to seek divine intervention.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:
Cross-references
- Joel 1:14 Consecrate a fast; proclaim a solemn assembly! Gather the elders and all the residents of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
- Numbers 10:3 When both are sounded, the whole congregation is to assemble before you at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Kings 21:12 They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
- Joel 2:1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—
- 1 Kings 21:9 In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
- 2 Kings 10:20 And Jehu commanded, “Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they announced it.
- Jeremiah 36:9 Now in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a fast before the LORD was proclaimed to all the people of Jerusalem and all who had come there from the cities of Judah.