Book of Joel Chapter 2 vs. 3

 The Day of the Lord

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. Joel 2:3

A fire devoureth... This is not to be understood of the heat of the sun, or of the great drought that went before and continued after the locusts; but of them themselves, which were like a consuming fire. Wherever they came, they devoured all green grass, herbs, and leaves of trees, the same as fire does stubble.

They sucked out the juice and moisture of everything they came to, and what they left behind shriveled up and withered away, as if it had been scorched with a flame of fire.

אֵשׁ

'êsh

aysh

A primitive word; fire (literally or figuratively): - burning, fiery, fire, flaming, hot.

אָכַל

'âkal

aw-kal'

A primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quiet.

the land is... Abounding with fields and vineyards, set with fruitful trees, planted with all manner of pleasant plants, and all kind of corn growing upon it, and even resembling a paradise.

אֶרֶץ

'erets

eh'-rets

From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land): - X common, country, earth, field, ground, land, X nations, way, + wilderness, world.

גַּן

gan

gan

From H1598, a garden (as fenced): - garden.

עֵדֶן

‛êden

ay'-den

The same as H5730 (masculine); Eden, the region of Adam’s home: - Eden.

פָּנִים

pânı̂ym

paw-neem'

Plural (but always used as a singular) of an unused noun (פָּנֶה pâneh, paw-neh'; from 6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.): - + accept, a (be-) fore (-time), against, anger, X as (long as), at, + battle, + because (of), + beseech, countenance, edge, + employ, endure, + inquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront (-part), form (-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, X him (-self), + honourable, + impudent, + in, it, look [-eth] (-s), X me, + meet, X more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), X on, open, + out of, over against, the partial, person, + please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason, of, + regard, right forth, + serve, X shewbread, sight, state, straight, + street, X thee, X them (-selves), through (+ -out), till, time (-s) past, (un-) to (-ward), + upon, upside (+ down), with (-in, + stand), X ye, X you.

and behind them... All green grass eaten up, the corn of the field devoured, the vines and olives destroyed, the leaves and fruit of them quite gone, and the trees themselves stripped of their bark.

אַחַר

'achar

akh-ar'

From H309; properly the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjugation, after (in various senses): - after (that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side), behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from, hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute, posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence [-forth], when, with.

שִׁמָמָה שְׁמָמָה

sh^emâmâh shimâmâh

shem-aw-maw', shee-mam-aw'

Feminine of H8076; devastation; figuratively astonishment: - (laid, X most) desolate (-ion), waste.

מִדְבָּר

midbâr

mid-bawr'

From H1696 in the sense of driving, a pasture (that is, open field, whither cattle are driven); by implication a desert; also, speech (including its organs): - desert, south, speech, wilderness.

So that there was just the same difference between this country before the calamities described came upon it, and what it was after, as between the Garden of Eden, or a paradise, and the most desolate wilderness; such ravages were made by the locusts, and by those they resembled.

and nothing shall... No herb: plant, or tree, could escape the locusts; nor any city, town, or village, nor scarce any particular person, could escape them.

לֹה לוֹא לֹא

lô' lô' lôh

lo, lo, lo

lo; a primitive particle; not (the simple or abstract negation); by implication no; often used with other particles: - X before, + or else, ere, + except, ig [-norant], much, less, nay, neither, never, no ([-ne], -r, [-thing]), (X as though . . . , [can-], for) not (out of), of nought, otherwise, out of, + surely, + as truly as, + of a truth, + verily, for want, + whether, without.

הָיָה

hâyâh

haw-yaw'

A primitive root (compare H1933); to exist, that is, be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary): - beacon, X altogether, be (-come, accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), continue, do, faint, fall, + follow, happen, X have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, X use.

פְּלֵטָה פְּלֵיטָה

p^elêyṭâh p^elêṭâh

pel-ay-taw', pel-ay-taw'

Feminine of H6412; deliverance; concretely an escaped portion: - deliverance, (that is) escape (-d), remnant.

The magnitude of locusts, spoken of here, would easily turn a Garden of Eden into a very desolate place, as if it had burned. Perhaps, the farmers tried to burn the locusts out, and the fire came from there. It is possible; also, that God sent fire on the crops and burned them up.

The invaders, like the locusts in Joel 1:1-20, are compared to a fire that consumes everything in its path (cf. Joel 1:19). Fruitful lands, whose lush growth was comparable to the Garden of Eden (cf. Gen. 2:8-9), would become a desert waste.

The destructive power of the Lord’s army

Again, the invaders, like the locusts in Joel 1:1-20, are compared to a fire that consumes everything in its path (cf. Joel 1:19). Fruitful lands, whose lush growth was comparable to the Garden of Eden (cf. Gen. 2:8-9), would become a desert waste. The reality behind this figure is the devastating effect of a huge, invading army on the land (cf. Deut. 28:49-51; Isa. 1:7; Jer. 5:17. The words nothing escapes them may allude to Exo. 10:5, 10:15.