Charles Ellicott Commentary Joel 2:7-9

"They run like mighty men; they climb the wall like men of war; and they march every one on his ways, and they break not their ranks. Neither doth one thrust another; they march every one in his path; and they burst through the weapons, and break not off [their course]. They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief." — Joel 2:7-9 (ASV)

They shall run like mighty men—The onward irresistible march of the invaders is graphically described by the illustration of the advance of locusts. They appear on the mountains which surround the city; they mount the walls; they rush through the streets; they enter the houses; they are in possession of Jerusalem.

Dr. Thomson (The Land and the Book, p. 416) describes the movements of a locust army in the following terms:

“Their number was astounding; the whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came, like a living deluge. We dug trenches, and kindled fires, and beat and burned to death heaps upon heaps; but the effort was utterly useless. Wave after wave rolled up the mountain-side, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches, hedges—those behind covering up and bridging over the masses already killed.”