Isaiah 13:10

13:10 Indeed the stars in the sky and their constellations

no longer give out their light; ¹ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ² 

Isaiah 24:23

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ³ 

the bright sun ⁴  will be darkened; ⁵ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ⁶ 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ⁷ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ⁸ 

Jeremiah 4:23-28

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ⁹  that it was an empty wasteland. ¹⁰ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.

All the hills were swaying back and forth!

4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, ¹¹ 

and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

4:26 I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert

and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.

The Lord had brought this all about

because of his blazing anger. ¹² 

4:27 All this will happen because the Lord said, ¹³ 

“The whole land will be desolate;

however, I will not completely destroy it.

4:28 Because of this the land will mourn

and the sky above will grow black. ¹⁴ 

For I have made my purpose known ¹⁵ 

and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.” ¹⁶ 

Ezekiel 32:7-8

32:7 When I extinguish you, I will cover the sky;

I will darken its stars.

I will cover the sun with a cloud,

and the moon will not shine. ¹⁷ 

32:8 I will darken all the lights in the sky over you,

and I will darken your land,

declares the sovereign Lord.

Joel 2:10

2:10 The earth quakes ¹⁸  before them; ¹⁹ 

the sky reverberates. ²⁰ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ²¹ 

Joel 2:30-31

2:30 I will produce portents both in the sky ²²  and on the earth –

blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

2:31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness

and the moon to the color of blood, ²³ 

before the day of the Lord comes –

that great and terrible day!

Joel 3:15

3:15 The sun and moon are darkened;

the stars withhold ²⁴  their brightness.

Amos 5:20

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring ²⁵  darkness, not light –

gloomy blackness, not bright light?

Amos 8:9

8:9 In that day,” says the sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon,

and make the earth dark in the middle of the day. ²⁶ 

Zephaniah 1:14-15

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment ²⁷  is almost here;

it is approaching very rapidly!

There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;

at that time warriors will cry out in battle. ²⁸ 

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ²⁹ 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

Luke 21:25-26

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ³⁰  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ³¹  anxious ³²  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. 21:26 People will be fainting from fear ³³  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁴ 

Acts 2:19-20

2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky ³⁵  above

and miraculous signs ³⁶  on the earth below,

blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious ³⁷  day of the Lord comes.

Revelation 6:12-17

6:12 Then ³⁸  I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge ³⁹  earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, ⁴⁰  and the full moon became blood red; ⁴¹  6:13 and the stars in the sky ⁴²  fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping ⁴³  its unripe figs ⁴⁴  when shaken by a fierce ⁴⁵  wind. 6:14 The sky ⁴⁶  was split apart ⁴⁷  like a scroll being rolled up, ⁴⁸  and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then ⁴⁹  the kings of the earth, the ⁵⁰  very important people, the generals, ⁵¹  the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave ⁵²  and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They ⁵³  said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, ⁵⁴  6:17 because the great day of their ⁵⁵  wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” ⁵⁶ 

[13:10]  ¹ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ² tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[24:23]  ³ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ⁴ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ⁶ tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ⁷ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ⁸ tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”

[4:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[4:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”

[4:26]  ¹² tn Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”

[4:27]  ¹³ tn Heb “For this is what the Lord said,”

[4:28]  ¹⁴ sn The earth and the heavens are personified here and depicted in the act of mourning and wearing black clothes because of the destruction of the land of Israel.

[4:28]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “has spoken and purposed.” This is an example of hendiadys where two verbs are joined by “and” but one is meant to serve as a modifier of the other.

[4:28]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “will not turn back from it.”

[32:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “will not shine its light.” For similar features of cosmic eschatology, see Joel 2:10; 4:15; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph 1:5.

[2:10]  ¹⁸ sn Witnesses of locust invasions have described the visual effect of large numbers of these creatures crawling over one another on the ground. At such times the ground is said to appear to be in motion, creating a dizzying effect on some observers. The reference in v. 10 to the darkening of the sun and moon probably has to do with the obscuring of visibility due to large numbers of locusts swarming in the sky.

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ²¹ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”

[2:30]  ²² tn Or “in the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[2:31]  ²³ tn Heb “to blood,” but no doubt this is intended to indicate by metonymy the color of blood rather than the substance itself. The blood red color suggests a visual impression here – something that could be caused by fires, volcanic dust, sandstorms, or other atmospheric phenomena.

[3:15]  ²⁴ tn Heb “gather in.”

[5:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”

[8:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “in a day of light.”

[1:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “The great day of the Lord.” The words “of judgment” are supplied in the translation here and later in this verse for clarity. See the note on the expression “day of judgment” in v. 7.

[1:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “the sound of the day of the Lord, bitter [is] one crying out there, a warrior.” The present translation does four things: (1) It takes מַר (mar, “bitter”) with what precedes (contrary to the accentuation of the MT). (2) It understands the participle צָרַח (tsarakh, “cry out in battle”) as verbal with “warrior” as its subject. (3) It takes שָׁם (sham, “there”) in a temporal sense, meaning “then, at that time.” (4) It understands “warrior” as collective.

[1:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[21:25]  ³⁰ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

[21:25]  ³¹ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ³² tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[21:26]  ³³ tn According to L&N 23.184 this could be mainly a psychological experience rather than actual loss of consciousness. It could also refer to complete discouragement because of fear, leading people to give up hope (L&N 25.293).

[21:26]  ³⁴ sn An allusion to Isa 34:4. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.

[2:19]  ³⁵ tn Or “in the heaven.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated “sky” or “heaven” depending on the context. Here, in contrast to “the earth below,” a reference to the sky is more likely.

[2:19]  ³⁶ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.

[2:20]  ³⁷ tn Or “and wonderful.”

[6:12]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:12]  ³⁹ tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”

[6:12]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).

[6:12]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).

[6:13]  ⁴² tn Or “in heaven” (the same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky”). The genitive τοῦ οὐρανοῦ (tou ouranou) is taken as a genitive of place.

[6:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.

[6:13]  ⁴⁴ tn L&N 3.37 states, “a fig produced late in the summer season (and often falling off before it ripens) – ‘late fig.’ ὡς συκὴ βάλλει τοὺς ὀλύνθους αὐτῆς ὑπὸ ἀνέμου μεγάλου σειομένη ‘as the fig tree sheds its late figs when shaken by a great wind’ Re 6:13. In the only context in which ὄλυνθος occurs in the NT (Re 6:13), one may employ an expression such as ‘unripe fig’ or ‘fig which ripens late.’”

[6:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “great wind.”

[6:14]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

[6:14]  ⁴⁷ tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποχωρίζω states, “ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη the sky was split Rv 6:14.” Although L&N 79.120 gives the meaning “the sky disappeared like a rolled-up scroll” here, a scroll that is rolled up does not “disappear,” and such a translation could be difficult for modern readers to understand.

[6:14]  ⁴⁸ tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”

[6:15]  ⁴⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:15]  ⁵⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated; nor is it translated before each of the following categories, since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[6:15]  ⁵¹ tn Grk “chiliarchs.” A chiliarch was normally a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

[6:15]  ⁵² tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ⁵³ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[6:16]  ⁵⁴ tn It is difficult to say where this quotation ends. The translation ends it after “withstand it” at the end of v. 17, but it is possible that it should end here, after “Lamb” at the end of v. 16. If it ends after “Lamb,” v. 17 is a parenthetical explanation by the author.

[6:17]  ⁵⁵ tc Most mss (A Ï bo) change the pronoun “their” to “his” (αὐτοῦ, autou) in order to bring the text in line with the mention of the one seated on the throne in the immediately preceding verse, and to remove the ambiguity about whose wrath is in view here. The reading αὐτῶν (autwn, “their”) is well supported by א C 1611 1854 2053 2329 2344 pc latt sy. On both internal and external grounds, it should be regarded as original.

[6:17]  ⁵⁶ tn The translation “to withstand (it)” for ἵστημι (Jisthmi) is based on the imagery of holding one’s ground in a military campaign or an attack (BDAG 482 s.v. B.4).