And I will remove far off from you the northern enemy: and I will drive him into a land unpassable, and desert, with his face towards the east sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea: and his stench shall ascend, and his rottenness shall go up, because he hath done proudly.
Joel 2:18 The Lord hath been zealous for his land, and hath spared his people.
Joel 2:19 And the Lord answered, and said to his people: Behold I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and you shall be filled with them: and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.
Joel 2:20 And I will remove far off from you the northern enemy: and I will drive him into a land unpassable, and desert, with his face towards the east sea, and his hinder part towards the utmost sea: and his stench shall ascend, and his rottenness shall go up, because he hath done proudly.
Joel 2:21 Fear not, O land, be glad, and rejoice: for the Lord hath done great things.
Joel 2:22 Fear not, ye beasts of the fields: for the beautiful places of the wilderness are sprung, for the tree hath brought forth its fruit, the fig tree, and the vine have yielded their strength.
The verse centers on "remove", "northern", "enemy", "drive", "land", "unpassable", "desert", and "face". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "remove" and "northern", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 19's "And the Lord answered and said to..." into verse 21's "Fear not O land be glad and...", so "remove" and "northern" 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 "remove" and "northern" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.