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

18In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on my servants—men and women alike— and they will prophesy. 19And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke. The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. 21But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22“People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well 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 13:9For see, the day of the Lord is coming— the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger. The land will be made desolate, and all the sinners destroyed with it.
• Isaiah 24:23Then the glory of the moon will wane, and the brightness of the sun will fade, for the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will rule on Mount Zion. He will rule in great glory in Jerusalem, in the sight of all the leaders of his people.
• Jeremiah 4:23I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
• Amos 8:9“In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth while it is still day.
• Matthew 24:29“Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
• Matthew 27:45At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock.
• Mark 13:24“At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light,
• Luke 21:25“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.
• 2 Peter 3:7And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
• Revelation 6:12I watched as the Lamb broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood.
• Revelation 16:8Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, causing it to scorch everyone with its fire.
• Isaiah 2:12For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.
• Isaiah 34:8For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel.
• Joel 2:1Sound the trumpet in Jerusalem! Raise the alarm on my holy mountain! Let everyone tremble in fear because the day of the Lord is upon us.
• Joel 3:14Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive.
• Zephaniah 2:2Gather before judgment begins, before your time to repent is blown away like chaff. Act now, before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord’s anger begins.

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