And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work.
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,
Joel 2:20 And the northern I put far off from you, And have driven him unto a land dry and desolate, With his face unto the eastern sea, And his rear unto the western sea, And come up hath his stink, And come up doth his stench, For he hath exerted himself to work.
Joel 2:21 Do not fear, O land! joy and rejoice, For Jehovah hath exerted Himself to work.
Joel 2:22 Do not fear, O cattle of the field! For sprung forth have pastures of a wilderness, For the tree hath borne its fruit, Fig-tree and vine have given their strength!
The verse centers on "northern", "driven", "land", "desolate", "face", "eastern", "rear", and "western". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "northern" and "driven", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Let Jehovah answer and say to His..." into verse 21's "Do not fear O land joy and...", so "northern" and "driven" 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 "northern" and "driven" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.