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 Living Translation (NLT)The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Context of Joel 2:31

29And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

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 quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
• Joel 3:1“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem,
• Isaiah 13:9Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.
• Isaiah 34:4All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
• Matthew 24:29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
• Matthew 27:45Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land.
• 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 the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
• Revelation 6:12I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood.
• Zephaniah 1:14The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
• Malachi 4:1“For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” Says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch.

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