For a nation has come up against my land, powerful and without number: The connector For introduces why there is nothing to eat or drink. The Hebrew word for nation is used in a figurative sense to refer to the locusts because of their great number. However, in English the word “nation” implies people; it is not a suitable English metaphor for insects. Good News Translation has substituted another figure, saying “army of locusts.” New English Bible uses “horde.” In some languages it may be better to refer nonfiguratively to the “swarm” of locusts. A natural figurative expression for a large number of locusts will probably have more impact; for example, “cloud of locusts.”
Has come up against is a literal rendering of the Hebrew here. Armies in those days would often have to attack a city built on higher ground, and that is undoubtedly the reason for this common expression in Hebrew. There is no upward movement in this context (as in Jdg 6.3; 15.10), so a better rendering for the verb here is “has attacked” (Good News Translation) or “has invaded” (New Revised Standard Version). If the metaphor of an “army” will not work in the receptor language, the verb may have to be rendered in a more neutral way; for example, “has appeared” or “has entered.”
It is clear that my land refers to Yahweh’s land, since the prophet is speaking on behalf of Yahweh. See also “my vines” and “my fig trees” in verse 7. However, in verse 19 the prophet is clearly speaking on behalf of the people, in his role as mediator between God and the people. Because the prophet often identifies himself with his people, Good News Translation uses “our land,” which is also possible, but Revised Standard Version has the preferred meaning. The translator should be consistent in verses 6 and 7, using either “my” or “our.”
The Hebrew word for powerful also implies a great number, so it refers to the kind of strength an army or a nation has because of overwhelming numbers. Because they are so many, they have the power to defeat other armies or nations.
Without number (Good News Translation “too many to count”) is literally true of locust swarms, which may number millions and even billions.
Its teeth are lions’ teeth, and it has the fangs of a lioness: These two lines do not express two ideas but one idea repeated in poetic parallel form, first as a metaphor using the male lion, then using the female. The metaphor of lions’ teeth or fangs, applied to small insects, is one of exaggeration, a hyperbole implying that the many tiny mouths of the locusts do at least as much destruction as would lions’ mouths. Good News Translation combines the two lines into a single simile, saying “their teeth are as sharp as those of a lion,” which focuses on the sharpness of their teeth rather than their size. However, the effect is almost unchanged, since the focus is on the destructiveness of the locusts. Many translators will want to follow Good News Translation here by combining the two parallel lines and changing the metaphor into a simile. The pronouns its and it refer to the locusts collectively as a group, a nation. For naturalness in English, New English Bible uses the plural pronouns “their” and “they,” referring to the locusts as many individuals (similarly Good News Translation).
Quoted with permission from de Blois, Kees & Dorn, Louis. A Handbook on Joel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .