A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, [even] to the years of many generations.
Ver. 2. A day of darkness and of gloominess] Lest they should imagine it to be some light matter that hath been, and is still threatened, he sets forth to the life, the bitterness of that day, so lowering and lightless, that it can hardly be called a day; a dark and doleful doomsday it will be to the impenitent, infaustus et infelix, dismal and dreadful. What better can be expected by those Tenebriones, that delight in the deeds of darkness, and are acted by those rulers of the darkness of this world, Ephesians 6:12, the devils, whom they follow as they are led, 1 Corinthians 12:2, till they fall into outer darkness, σκοτος εξωτερον, even that darkness beyond a darkness (as the dungeon is beyond or below the prison), where they shall never see the light again till they see all the world on a light fire. Let those Lucifugae look to it, that love darkness better than light; for, besides what they meet with here, they shall one day have their bellies full of it in that dungeon of darkness.
A day of clouds and of thick darkness]. Caused by that huge army of locusts, coming in great swarms and darkening the air.
As the morning spread upon the mountains] i.e. longe, lateque, far and near, all the country over, and that in an instant; even as the morning spreadeth abroad suddenly over the tops of hills, though they be a great way off. Postera vix summos spargebat lumine montes Orta dies (Virg.) Lux subit, et primo feriente cacumina sole. (Ovid.) Hereby is imported that the calamity here threatened is such as they can neither avert nor avoid. Irretensibilis est, saith Luther.
A great people and a strong] So the locusts are called, see Joel 1:4,6, not without some respect to the Chaldeans, that should afterwards carry them captive, as Jerome here glosseth.
There hath not been ever the like] sc. in the land of Judea, nor of the like continuance. See Joel 1:2,3 .
Even to the years of many generations] Heb. Of an age and an age, so Deu 32:7 Joel 3:20. This assureth us of the greatness of this people's sin, since they were so signally punished, for God doth not use to kill flies with beetles, as they say.