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:
• 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.
• 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 servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22“Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.

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 13:9See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.
• Isaiah 24:23The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.
• Jeremiah 4:23I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
• Amos 8:9“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
• Matthew 24:29“Immediately after the distress of those days “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’
• Matthew 27:45From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.
• Mark 13:24“But in those days, following that distress, “ ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
• Luke 21:25“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea.
• 2 Peter 3:7By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
• Revelation 6:12I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red,
• Revelation 16:8The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire.
• Isaiah 2:12The Lord Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled),
• Isaiah 34:8For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.
• Joel 2:1Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—
• 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 and that day passes like windblown chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s wrath comes upon you.

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