Joel 2:16 (YLT)

Passage

Gather the people, sanctify an assembly, Assemble the aged, Gather infants and sucklings of the breasts, Go out let a bridegroom from his inner chamber, And a bride out of her closet.

Nearby Context

Joel 2:14 Who knoweth--He doth turn back, Yea--He hath repented, And He hath left behind Him a blessing, A present and libation of Jehovah your God?

Joel 2:15 Blow ye a trumpet in Zion, Sanctify a fast--proclaim a restraint.

Joel 2:16 Gather the people, sanctify an assembly, Assemble the aged, Gather infants and sucklings of the breasts, Go out let a bridegroom from his inner chamber, And a bride out of her closet.

Joel 2:17 Between the porch and the altar weep let the priests, ministrants of Jehovah, And let them say: `Have pity, O Jehovah, on Thy people, And give not Thy inheritance to reproach, To the ruling over them of nations, Why do they say among peoples, Where <FI>is<Fi> their God?'

Joel 2:18 And let Jehovah be zealous for His land, And have pity on His people.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "gather", "people", "sanctify", "assembly", "assemble", "aged", and "infants". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "gather" and "people", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "Blow ye a trumpet in Zion Sanctify..." into verse 17's "Between the porch and the altar weep...", so "gather" and "people" 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 "gather" and "people" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.