For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Joel uses a potent word for "nation" here, one that suggests a foreign, invading power rather than just an insect swarm. This choice hints that while locusts are the immediate threat, God is also alluding to the human armies that will devastate Judah, showing how He uses both natural and human forces as instruments of judgment.
For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Joel is describing a devastating invasion that has stripped the land bare, leaving it scorched and barren. He uses the imagery of a powerful, numerous nation with lion-like ferocity to depict this destructive force, which some scholars believe refers literally to locusts but also symbolically to a conquering foreign army like the Babylonians. This invasion represents God's judgment for the people's sin and misuse of their blessings.
Joel calls an invading force a 'nation,' but not just any nation. He uses imagery of a terrifying predator. What makes this 'nation' so fearsome?
The Mighty Invader
Joel 1:6 describes the invading force as a "nation" that is "strong, and without number." This isn't just a simple description of an army; it's a powerful metaphor.
The invaders are upon 'my land,' but who is speaking? This simple phrase holds profound theological weight.
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God's Claim and Human Trust
The prophet declares, "For a nation has come up against my land..." This "my land" is not just any territory; it's the land God specifically chose and claimed for His people.
Understand the original words
goy · Hebrew Noun
A body of people united by common descent, culture, or territory, often used in Scripture to refer to either the covenant people of God (Israel) or foreign, pagan nations.
Joel's vivid imagery of a devastating 'nation' with the power of a lion likely refers to the overwhelming, destructive force of the Babylonian armies that ravaged Judah and destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple.
Late 8th century BC
Assyrian invasions of Judah
The powerful Assyrian Empire under kings like Tiglath-pileser III and Sennacherib repeatedly invaded the region, subjugating surrounding nations and threatening Judah.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian deportation
Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian Empire begins its rise, initiating the first wave of exiles from Judah, including noble youths like Daniel.
c. 597 BC
Second Babylonian deportation
Following a revolt, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Judah's population, including King Jehoiachin and the prophet Ezekiel, intensifying the crisis.
c. 586 BC— this verse
Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
The Babylonians lay siege to Jerusalem, ultimately destroying the city and the Temple, leading to a third, massive deportation and the end of the Davidic monarchy.
c. 539 BC
Persian conquest of Babylon
Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers the Babylonian Empire, paving the way for the eventual return of exiled Jews to their homeland.
This passage directly echoes Joel's imagery, describing locusts with 'teeth like the teeth of lions,' highlighting the shared powerful and destructive nature of these swarms.
Proverbs 30:26This verse, speaking of 'conies' as a 'feeble folk' but finding safety in their rocky refuges, provides a contrast to the overwhelming 'nation' of locusts in Joel, showing how even the small can be significant in God's creation.
Jeremiah 51:14Similar to Joel, Jeremiah describes an invading enemy, the Babylonians, with the image of locusts ('I will send locust-chasers after him'), underscoring the prophetic connection between insect plagues and devastating human armies.
Deuteronomy 11:12This verse states that the land of Israel is one 'that the LORD your God cares for,' which powerfully contrasts with Joel's depiction of this same land being overrun and ravaged. It emphasizes that the invasion is a direct challenge to God's protective care for His chosen land.
pooleJoel 1:6: "For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion."
This verse countenanceth their conjecture who take the locusts and vermin to be emblematical in part as well as literal; for it seems not very suitable to call their teeth teeth of a lion . For a nation; an innumerable multitude of locusts and caterpillars, called a nation here, as Solomon calls the conies and the ants, Proverbs 30:25,26…
clarkeJoel 1:6: "For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion."
A nation is come up upon my land - That real locusts are intended there can be little doubt; but it is thought that this may be a double prophecy, and that the destruction by the Chaldeans may also be intended, and that the four kinds of locusts mentioned above may mean the four several attacks made on Judea by them. The first in the las…
Joel uses a potent word for "nation" here, one that suggests a foreign, invading power rather than just an insect swarm. This choice hints that while locusts are the immediate threat, God is also alluding to the human armies that will devastate Judah, showing how He uses both natural and human forces as instruments of judgment.
Joel is describing a devastating invasion that has stripped the land bare, leaving it scorched and barren. He uses the imagery of a powerful, numerous nation with lion-like ferocity to depict this destructive force, which some scholars believe refers literally to locusts but also symbolically to a conquering foreign army like the Babylonians. This invasion represents God's judgment for the people's sin and misuse of their blessings.
Joel is describing a devastating invasion that has stripped the land bare, leaving it scorched and barren. He uses the imagery of a powerful, numerous nation with lion-like ferocity to depict this destructive force, which some scholars believe refers literally to locusts but also symbolically to a conquering foreign army like the Babylonians. This invasion represents God's judgment for the people's sin and misuse of their blessings.
"For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and beyond number; its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness." — Joel uses a potent word for "nation" here, one that suggests a foreign, invading power rather than just an insect swarm. This choice hints that while locusts are the immediate threat, God is also all…
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Last reviewed October 2026