Joel 2:13 (DBY)

Passage

and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Nearby Context

Joel 2:11 And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for strong is he that executeth his word: for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can bear it?

Joel 2:12 Yet even now, saith Jehovah, turn to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning;

Joel 2:13 and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto Jehovah your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great loving-kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joel 2:14 Who knoweth? He might return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him, an oblation and a drink-offering for Jehovah your God?

Joel 2:15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, hallow a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "rend", "heart", "garments", "turn", "jehovah", "gracious", "merciful", and "slow". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "rend" and "heart", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Yet even now saith Jehovah turn to..." into verse 14's "Who knoweth He might return and repent...", so "rend" and "heart" belong inside that flow. In Joel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "rend" and "heart" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.