Joel 2:31

Joel 2:31 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible 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 dreadful day of the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.
• 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 Joel 2:31

29I will pour out my Spirit on all my servants, on men and on women in those days. 30I will do strange things in the sky and on the earth. I will send blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark and the moon will become red. Then the great and frightening day of the Lord will come. 32Everyone who asks the Lord for help will be safe. They will be safe if they believe in his name. The Lord will save the people on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. He has promised this to those people whom he has asked to come to him.

Joel 2:31 word by word

הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ יֵהָפֵ֣ךְ לְחֹ֔שֶׁךְ וְהַיָּרֵ֖חַ לְדָ֑ם לִפְנֵ֗י בּ֚וֹא י֣וֹם יְהוָ֔ה הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The sunשֶׁ֫מֶשׁshemesh · sunH8121
• shall be turnedהָפַךְhâphak · to overturnH2015
• into darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• and the moonיָרֵחַyârêach · moonH3394
• into bloodדָּםdâm · bloodH1818
• beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• the greatגָּדוֹלgâdôl gâdôl · great: largeH1419
• and the terribleיָרֵאyârê' · to fearH3372
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935

Cross-references for Joel 2:31

• Joel 2:10The earth in front of them moves. The sky itself moves. The sun and moon are dark and the stars do not give any light.
• Joel 3:1‘Judah and Jerusalem were once great. One day, at that time, I will make them great again.
• 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 34:4The stars in the sky will slowly disappear. The sky will close up like a book. All the stars will fall, like dry leaves that fall from a vine. They will drop like figs from a fig tree, when they become dry.
• 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.
• 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.
• Zephaniah 1:14The time for the great day of the Lord is coming very soon. It will happen quickly. Strong men will weep when they hear the noise of it.
• Malachi 4:1‘The great day when I come to judge people will certainly happen. Punishment will come like the great fire of a hot oven. It will destroy all the proud people who do evil things. It will completely destroy them, like a fire that destroys dry grass. Nothing will remain.’ That is what the Lord Almighty says.

Commentaries on Joel 2:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31The sun shall be turned into darkness - The Jewish polity, civil and ecclesiastical, shall be entirely destroyed. Before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come - In the taking and sacking of Jerusalem, and burning of the temple, by the Romans, under Titus, the son of Vespasian. This was, perhaps, the greatest and most terrible day of God's vengeance ever shown to the world, or that ever will be shown, till the great day of the general judgment…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31Before the great and terrible Day of the Lord come - o“The days of our life are our days wherein we do what we please; that will be the “Day of the Lord,” when He, our Judge, shall require the account of all our doings. It will be “great,” because it is the horizon of time and eternity; the last day of time, the beginning of eternity. It will put an end to the world, guilt, deserts, good or evil. It will be “great,” because in it great things will be…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 28-32Verses 28-32 The promise began to be fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was continued in the converting grace and miraculous gifts conferred on both Jews and Gentiles. The judgments of God upon a sinful world, only go before the judgment of the world in the last day. Calling on God supposes knowledge of him, faith in him, desire toward him, dependence on him, and, as evidence of the sincerity of all this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 30-31When God pours out his Spirit in the future, there will be signs and wonders. Blood, fire, and smoke, along with the darkening of the sun and moon, will show God's coming judgment (see Joel 2:10; Mark 13:24; Revelation 6:12).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 30-3130-31. As Messiah's manifestation is full of joy to believers, so it has an aspect of wrath to unbelievers, which is represented here. Thus when the Jews received Him not in His coming of grace, He came in judgment on Jerusalem. Physical prodigies, massacres, and conflagrations preceded its destruction [Josephus, Wars of the Jews]. To these the language here may allude; but the figures chiefly symbolize political revolutions and changes in the ruling…Read the comment

Topics related to Joel 2:31

• Church
• Eclipse
• Gentiles
• Gospel
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena
• Moon
• Prophecy
• Quotations and Allusions
• Sun

In the dictionaries

• Darkness
• Fat
• Pour
• Rend
• Reproach
• Thrust
• Eschatology of the Old Testament
• Joel (2)
• Moon
• Notable

Commentaries on Joel 2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings