Joel 2:6 (YLT)

Passage

From its face pained are peoples, All faces have gathered paleness.

Nearby Context

Joel 2:4 As the appearance of horses <FI>is<Fi> its appearance, And as horsemen, so they run.

Joel 2:5 As the noise of chariots, on the tops of the mountains they skip, As the noise of a flame of fire devouring stubble, As a mighty people set in array for battle.

Joel 2:6 From its face pained are peoples, All faces have gathered paleness.

Joel 2:7 As mighty ones they run, As men of war they go up a wall, And each in his own ways they do go, And they embarrass not their paths.

Joel 2:8 And each his brother they press not, Each in his way they go on, If by the missile they fall, they are not cut off.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "face", "pained", "peoples", "faces", "gathered", and "paleness". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "face" and "pained", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "As the noise of chariots on the..." into verse 7's "As mighty ones they run As men...", so "face" and "pained" 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 "face" and "pained" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.