Good News Translation begins this verse with the quote frame “The LORD says” in order to identify the speaker in verses 1-8. These words are not in the Hebrew text but are implied by the fact that Yahweh is clearly the speaker in these verses.
For …: Although a new chapter begins here, verse 1 is closely related to the previous verse. There it was stated that those faithful to Yahweh will be saved and will be the survivors. The Hebrew word translated For is either an emphatic marker (so New American Bible “Yes”) or a logical connector (so Revised Standard Version). If it is used here to express emphasis, it may be rendered “Surely.” If it serves as a logical connector here, alternative ways to begin this verse are “I can say there will be survivors because I will restore the fortunes…” and “Your motivation for remaining faithful to me is the fact that I will restore the fortunes….” All these ways of understanding the Hebrew text are valid, so the translator is free to render any of them in a clear expression.
Behold is a term for getting the hearers’ attention (see 2.19). It may be rendered “look,” “listen to me,” “open your ears,” or “I am telling you.” In some languages this expression may occur later in the verse. Good News Translation omits it, but it should be rendered in some way.
In those days and at that time are two synonymous phrases that Good News Translation has rendered as a single phrase, “At that time,” to avoid redundancy. The time referred to is the day of Yahweh, the time of God’s judgment, described in 2.30-32.
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem: Restore the fortunes (also New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Wolff) translates a Hebrew expression that is literally “turn the turning.” The idea behind this expression seems to be that God’s people at one time turned, or were turned, away from God and his blessings. Now God will repeat the action of turning them around so that they are once more facing the right direction, are walking with God, and are receiving his blessings. Segond translates the expression as “make the captives return” (similarly King James Version and the ancient versions), but such a translation limits the expression to the Babylonian captivity and does not allow for other occasions in history when the expression was used. Other translations are “restore the prosperity” (Good News Translation), “reverse the fortunes” (Revised English Bible), “turn the destiny [or, fate]” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch [1982]), “make the luck change” (Spanish common language version [Biblia Dios Habla Hoy]), “reestablish … in their former situation” (Bible en français courant), “make … have abundance again” (Tagalog common language version), and simply “restore” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). It is not necessary to translate this expression in the same way every time it occurs, but rather to use an expression that is appropriate for the context of each passage. Judah is referred to explicitly here for the first time in the book of Joel. It refers to the southern kingdom of Judah. Some languages may render Judah and Jerusalem as “Jerusalem and the rest of Judah.”
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 .