Acts 2:20

Acts 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
• New International Version (NIV)The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

Context of Acts 2:20

18At that time, I will give my Spirit to all my servants, both men and women. Then they will speak my message to people. 19I will cause special things to appear in the sky. I will cause special things to appear on the earth too. Those things will show how great I am. There will be blood, fire and thick dark smoke. The sun will become dark to people. The moon will become dark red like the colour of blood. These things will happen before the great day of the Lord arrives. That will be a wonderful day! 21The Lord will save everyone who asks him to help them.” ’ 22Peter then said, ‘People of Israel, listen to what I am saying! Jesus, the man from Nazareth, came with God's authority to do his work. God did many powerful and special things through him. These miracles showed you clearly that God had sent him. You know about all this. These things happened here, and you saw them.

Acts 2:20 word by word

ὁ ἥλιος μεταστραφήσεται εἰς σκότος καὶ ἡ σελήνη εἰς αἷμα, πρὶν ἢ ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἡμέραν κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• ·ἤē · orG2228
• The sunἥλιοςhēlios · sunG2246
• shall be turnedμεταστρέφωmetastrephō · to changeG3344
• intoεἰςeis · towardG1519
• darknessσκότοςskotos · darknessG4655
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• the moonσελήνηselēnē · moonG4582
• bloodαἷμαaima · bloodG129
• before thatπρίνprin · beforeG4250
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• notableἐπιφανήςepiphanēs · gloriousG2016
• dayἡμέραhēmera · dayG2250
• of the Lordκύριοςkurios · lord: GodG2962
• comeἔρχομαιerchomai · to come/goG2064

Cross-references for Acts 2:20

• Isaiah 13:9Look! The day of the Lord will happen soon! It will be a cruel day. The Lord will punish his enemies with great anger. He will destroy the whole land, as well as all the sinners in it.
• Isaiah 24:23The moon will hide its face in shame. The bright light of the sun will become dark. Yes, the Lord Almighty will become king on Mount Zion. He will rule with great power in Jerusalem. The leaders of the people will see his great glory.
• Jeremiah 4:23I looked at the earth. It had no shape and it was empty. I looked at the sky. Its light had disappeared.
• Amos 8:9The Lord God says, ‘At that time, I will make the sun go down at noon. I will make the earth become dark in the daytime.
• Matthew 24:29Then after all these bad things have happened, “The sun will become dark. The moon will not shine any more. Stars will fall out of the sky. And the powerful things in the sky will shake.”
• Matthew 27:45It was now midday. The whole country became dark for three hours.
• Mark 13:24Then, after all these bad things have happened, the sun will become dark. The moon will not shine any more.
• Luke 21:25‘You will see strange things happen to the sun and to the moon and to the stars. Down on earth, things that happen will make people in many countries very afraid. The sea will move up and down and make a lot of noise. There will be great storms.
• 2 Peter 3:7But God has also spoken his word to say what will happen to the world in a future time. The sky and the earth that we see now will continue for a time. But God is keeping them until the day when he will destroy them with fire. On that day he will judge all people. He will destroy the people who have turned away from him.
• Revelation 6:12I watched again. I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal. Then the ground shook with a great earthquake. The sun became black like thick black cloth. The whole moon became red like blood.
• Revelation 16:8Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. God gave authority to the sun so that it burned people with fire.
• Isaiah 2:12Yes! The Lord Almighty will choose his great day. On that day, he will judge all the proud people who think that they are great. He will bring them all down very low.
• Isaiah 34:8The Lord has chosen a day for punishment. It will be a time when he punishes Zion's enemies, because they have attacked his people.
• Joel 2:1Blow the trumpet in Zion. Tell the people on the Lord's hill that they must watch for trouble. All the people who live in this country will be afraid. They will be afraid because the day of the Lord is coming. It is very near.
• Joel 3:14Many nations are in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. It is there that the day of the Lord will soon come.
• Zephaniah 2:2The wind takes away the dry parts of a plant that covered the seed. It will be like that when I punish you. Before it is the time for me to punish you, look for me. Before this time is past, look for me. Look for me, before I become very, very angry with you. There will be a day when the Lord will be angry. Look for me, before that day. Yes, look for the Lord, all you people who want to make him happy. You have done what the Lord wants. Continue to do what is good. But do not think that you are great. Perhaps you will find a safe place on the day when the Lord is angry.

Commentaries on Acts 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood - These are figurative representations of eclipses, intended most probably to point out the fall of the civil and ecclesiastical state in Judea: see the notes on Matthew 24:29. That the Sun is darkened when a total eclipse takes place, and that the Moon appears of a bloody hue in such circumstances, every person knows.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20The sun shall be turned into darkness - See the notes on Matthew 24:29. The same images used here with reference to the sun and moon are used also there: They occur not infrequently, Mark 13:24; 2 Peter 3:7-10. The shining of the sun is an emblem of prosperity; the withdrawing, the eclipse, or the setting of the sun is an emblem of calamity, and is often thus need in the Scriptures, Isaiah 60:20; Jeremiah 15:9; Ezekiel 32:7; Amos 8:9; Revelation 6:12…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-21Verses 14-21 Peter's sermon shows that he was thoroughly recovered from his fall, and thoroughly restored to the Divine favour; for he who had denied Christ, now boldly confessed him. His account of the miraculous pouring forth of the Spirit, was designed to awaken the hearers to embrace the faith of Christ, and to join themselves to his church. It was the fulfilling the Scripture, and the fruit of Christ's resurrection and ascension, and proof of both…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-21This passage quotes Joel 2:28–32. The prophet Joel prophesied that in the last days, many people would have the gifts of prophecy, including visions and dreams. This would include both young and old, and both men and women (Joel 2:28–29). In Acts, on the day of Pentecost, Peter announced that Joel’s prophecy was coming true, indicating that "the last days" had begun.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-3614-21. Peter, standing up with the eleven--in advance, perhaps, of the rest.Read the comment

Topics related to Acts 2:20

• Astronomy
• Church
• Eclipse
• Heaven
• Judgment
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Moon
• Orator
• Peter
• Preaching
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Readings, Select
• Revivals
• Sun
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Approve
• Confound
• Determinate
• Exhort
• Gladness
• Messiah
• Miracle
• Notable
• Pentecost
• Untoward

Commentaries on Acts 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings