Joel 2:12-13 Explained

"Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil." — Joel 2:12-13 (KJV)

The call read on Ash Wednesday across the Western church, and it corrects the very practice it commands.

Read it in context: The Book of Joel. Also gathered under verses about repentance.

Joel 2:12-13 in context

What does Joel 2:12-13 mean?

The passage does not abolish the outward signs; fasting, weeping and mourning are commanded in the same breath. It relocates the tearing. 'Rend your heart, and not your garments' is a contrast of location rather than of body and spirit, and the reason follows immediately: the character of the one being turned to. Four attributes are listed, which is the same formula Exodus gives after the golden calf.

What is the context of Joel 2:12-13?

Joel has described a locust plague as a warning of the day of the LORD. Tearing one's clothes was the standard public sign of grief in that world — visible, immediate, and easy to perform without meaning it.

How do I pray Joel 2:12-13?

Pray it at the start of any season of repentance and ask which half you find easier — most people are better at either the visible practice or the private feeling, rarely both. Then note that the motive Joel gives is not fear of the day but the character of God, which is a different engine and lasts longer.

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