Bible Strands
Joel 2:21
Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God (Yahweh) addresses the land directly, personified, in the pivot between the announcement of the invading army's defeat (v. 20) and the description of restored vegetation (v. 22).
The words — גִּ֣ילִי (gîlî, H1523) is a feminine imperative meaning "leap for joy," a command of exuberant celebration directed at inanimate ground. הִגְדִּ֥יל (higgdîl, H1431, Hiphil) means "he has made great," stressing God as the active agent behind the reversal.
The thread — The "do not fear" address to a place or people follows God's declared victory: Zephaniah 3:16 ("Do not fear, O Zion"), Isaiah 41:10 ("Do not fear, for I am with you"). Psalms 126:1 captures the stunned joy that follows such reversal.
Why it lands — The land is commanded to rejoice before the green pastures of v. 22 have yet been described; the demand is to respond to God's act, not to visible evidence. It asks the reader to ground joy in what God has done rather than in what they can currently see.
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
Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things.
Cross-references
- Zephaniah 3:16 On that day they will say to Jerusalem: “Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp.
- Psalms 126:1 A song of ascents. When the LORD restored the captives of Zion, we were like dreamers.
- Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
- Isaiah 54:4 Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.
- 1 Samuel 12:16 Now, therefore, present yourselves and see this great thing that the LORD will do before your eyes.
- Jeremiah 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
- 1 Samuel 12:24 Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.
- Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
- Jeremiah 30:9 Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.
- Deuteronomy 4:32 Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?