In Joel 2:6, the KJV says:
“Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.”
In plain sense, “all faces shall gather blackness” means the people’s faces will become darkened with terror, distress, and anguish when they see the dreadful judgment coming.
The verse is describing the fear caused by the invading host connected with “the day of the LORD” in Joel 2:1. The people are “much pained,” meaning they are seized with deep anguish, like men overtaken by unavoidable judgment. Their faces “gather blackness” because fear, grief, and despair show outwardly in their countenance.
It is similar to other KJV expressions where fear and sorrow affect the face:
“Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt:
And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them…”
— Isaiah 13:7–8
And Nahum uses almost the same wording:
“The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight… their might hath failed; they became as women…”
— Jeremiah 51:30
“The heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.”
— Nahum 2:10
So in Joel 2, the phrase does not mean a racial change, nor is it a symbolic blessing. It is the visible mark of terror under divine judgment. Their faces grow dark, pale, gloomy, or deathlike because they are overwhelmed by the dread of the LORD’s army and the coming day of His wrath.
Doctrinally, the verse reminds us that when God rises in judgment, human strength collapses. Joel’s answer is not self-confidence, but repentance:
“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart…”
— Joel 2:12
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