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 2:15 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.
Joel 2:19 Let Jehovah answer and say to His people, `Lo, I am sending to you the corn, And the new wine, and the oil, And ye have been satisfied with it, And I make you no more a reproach among nations,
The verse centers on "between", "porch", "altar", "weep", "priests", "ministrants", "jehovah", and "pity". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "between" and "porch", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 16's "Gather the people sanctify an assembly Assemble..." into verse 18's "And let Jehovah be zealous for His...", so "between" and "porch" 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 "between" and "porch" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.