English Standard Version
Acts 2:20
20the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives.
Context of Acts 2:20
18even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day. 21And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—
Read all of Acts 2Acts 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 13:9Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.
- Isaiah 24:23Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.
- Jeremiah 4:23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
- Amos 8:9"And on that day," declares the Lord God, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
- Matthew 24:29"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Mark 13:24"But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light,
- Luke 21:25"And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,
- 2 Peter 3:7But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
- Revelation 6:12When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,
- Revelation 16:8The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.
- Isaiah 2:12For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;
- Isaiah 34:8For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- Joel 2:1Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
- Joel 3:14Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
- Zephaniah 2:2before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
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
In the dictionaries
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries