Isaiah 13:9-10

13:9 Look, the Lord’s day of judgment ¹  is coming;

it is a day of cruelty and savage, raging anger, ² 

destroying ³  the earth ⁴ 

and annihilating its sinners.

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

no longer give out their light; ⁵ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ⁶ 

Isaiah 24:23

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ⁷ 

the bright sun ⁸  will be darkened; ⁹ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ¹⁰ 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ¹¹ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ¹² 

Isaiah 60:19-20

60:19 The sun will no longer supply light for you by day,

nor will the moon’s brightness shine on you;

the Lord will be your permanent source of light –

the splendor of your God will shine upon you. ¹³ 

60:20 Your sun will no longer set;

your moon will not disappear; ¹⁴ 

the Lord will be your permanent source of light;

your time ¹⁵  of sorrow will be over.

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. ¹⁶ 

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 ¹⁷  before them; ¹⁸ 

the sky reverberates. ¹⁹ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ²⁰ 

Joel 2:30-31

2:30 I will produce portents both in the sky ²¹  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, ²² 

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 ²³  their brightness.

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. ²⁴ 

Haggai 2:6-7

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ²⁵  I will once again shake the sky ²⁶  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground. 2:7 I will also shake up all the nations, and they ²⁷  will offer their treasures; ²⁸  then I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord who rules over all.

Haggai 2:21-22

2:21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah: ‘I am ready ²⁹  to shake the sky ³⁰  and the earth. 2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ³¹  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ³² 

Matthew 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ³³  after the suffering ³⁴  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 heaven will be shaken. ³⁵ 

Matthew 27:45

Jesus’ Death

27:45 Now from noon until three, ³⁶  darkness came over all the land. ³⁷ 

Mark 13:24-25

The Arrival of the Son of Man

13:24 “But in those days, after that suffering, ³⁸  the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light; 13:25 the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ³⁹ 

Mark 15:33

Jesus’ Death

15:33 Now ⁴⁰  when it was noon, ⁴¹  darkness came over the whole land ⁴²  until three in the afternoon. ⁴³ 

Luke 23:44-45

23:44 It was now ⁴⁴  about noon, ⁴⁵  and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁶  23:45 because the sun’s light failed. ⁴⁷  The temple curtain ⁴⁸  was torn in two.

Acts 2:19-20

2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky ⁴⁹  above

and miraculous signs ⁵⁰  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 ⁵¹  day of the Lord comes.

[13:9]  ¹ tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

[13:9]  ² tn Heb “[with] cruelty, and fury, and rage of anger.” Three synonyms for “anger” are piled up at the end of the line to emphasize the extraordinary degree of divine anger that will be exhibited in this judgment.

[13:9]  ³ tn Heb “making desolate.”

[13:9]  ⁴ tn Or “land” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NLT).

[13:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[24:23]  ⁷ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ⁸ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ⁹ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ¹⁰ tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ¹² tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”

[60:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “and your God for your splendor.”

[60:20]  ¹⁴ sn In this verse “sun” and “moon” refer to the Lord’s light, which will replace the sun and moon (see v. 19). Light here symbolizes the restoration of divine blessing and prosperity in conjunction with the Lord’s presence. See 30:26.

[60:20]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “days” (so KJV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[32:7]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ²⁰ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”

[2:30]  ²¹ tn Or “in the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[2:31]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Heb “gather in.”

[8:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in a day of light.”

[2:6]  ²⁵ tc The difficult MT reading עוֹד אַחַת מְעַט הִיא (’od ’akhat mÿ’at hi’, “yet once, it is little”; cf. NAB “One moment yet, a little while”) appears as “yet once” in the LXX, omitting the last two Hebrew words. However, the point being made is that the anticipated action is imminent; thus the repetition provides emphasis.

[2:6]  ²⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The same Hebrew word, שָׁמַיִם (shamayim), may be translated “sky” or “heavens” depending on the context. Although many English versions translate the term as “heavens” here, the other three elements present in this context (earth, sea, dry ground) suggest “sky” is in view.

[2:7]  ²⁷ tn Heb “all the nations.”

[2:7]  ²⁸ tn Though the subject here is singular (חֶמְדַּה, khemdah; “desire”), the preceding plural predicate mandates a collective subject, “desired (things)” or, better, an emendation to a plural form, חֲמֻדֹת (khamudot, “desirable [things],” hence “treasures”). Cf. ASV “the precious things”; NASB “the wealth”; NRSV “the treasure.” In the OT context this has no direct reference to the coming of the Messiah.

[2:21]  ²⁹ tn The participle here suggests an imminent undertaking of action (cf. NRSV, TEV, NLT “I am about to”). The overall language of the passage is eschatological, but eschatology finds its roots in the present.

[2:21]  ³⁰ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[2:22]  ³¹ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ³² tn Heb “and horses and their riders will go down, a man with a sword his brother”; KJV “every one by the sword of his brother.”

[24:29]  ³³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ³⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ³⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. 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.

[27:45]  ³⁶ tn Grk “from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.”

[27:45]  ³⁷ sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

[13:24]  ³⁸ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[13:25]  ³⁹ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. 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.

[15:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[15:33]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “When the sixth hour had come.”

[15:33]  ⁴² sn This imagery has parallels to the Day of the Lord: Joel 2:10; Amos 8:9; Zeph 1:15.

[15:33]  ⁴³ tn Grk “until the ninth hour.”

[23:44]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “And it was.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[23:44]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “the sixth hour.”

[23:44]  ⁴⁶ tn Grk “until the ninth hour.”

[23:45]  ⁴⁷ tc The wording “the sun’s light failed” is a translation of τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος/ ἐκλείποντος (tou Jhliou eklipontos/ ekleipontos), a reading found in the earliest and best witnesses (among them Ì⁷⁵ א B C*^vid L 070 579 2542 pc) as well as several ancient versions. The majority of mss (A C³ [D] W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have the flatter, less dramatic term, “the sun was darkened” (ἐσκοτίσθη, eskotisqe), a reading that avoids the problem of implying an eclipse (see sn below). This alternative thus looks secondary because it is a more common word and less likely to be misunderstood as referring to a solar eclipse. That it appears in later witnesses rather than the earliest ones adds confirmatory testimony to its inauthentic character.

[23:45]  ⁴⁸ tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.

[2:19]  ⁴⁹ 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]  ⁵⁰ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.

[2:20]  ⁵¹ tn Or “and wonderful.”