Joel 2:10

2:10 The earth quakes ¹  before them; ² 

the sky reverberates. ³ 

The sun and the moon grow dark;

the stars refuse to shine. ⁴ 

Joel 2:31

2:31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness

and the moon to the color of blood, ⁵ 

before the day of the Lord comes –

that great and terrible day!

Isaiah 13:10

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

no longer give out their light; ⁶ 

the sun is darkened as soon as it rises,

and the moon does not shine. ⁷ 

Matthew 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ⁸  after the suffering ⁹  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. ¹⁰ 

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, ¹¹  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ¹²  anxious ¹³  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. 21:26 People will be fainting from fear ¹⁴  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ¹⁵ 

Revelation 6:12-13

6:12 Then ¹⁶  I looked when the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and a huge ¹⁷  earthquake took place; the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, ¹⁸  and the full moon became blood red; ¹⁹  6:13 and the stars in the sky ²⁰  fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping ²¹  its unripe figs ²²  when shaken by a fierce ²³  wind.

[2:10]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “before it.”

[2:10]  ³ tn Heb “trembles.”

[2:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “gather their brightness.”

[2:31]  ⁵ 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.

[13:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not flash forth their light.”

[13:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “does not shed forth its light.”

[24:29]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ⁹ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ¹⁰ 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.

[21:25]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ¹³ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[21:26]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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.

[6:12]  ¹⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:12]  ¹⁷ tn Or “powerful”; Grk “a great.”

[6:12]  ¹⁸ tn Or “like hairy sackcloth” (L&N 8.13).

[6:12]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “like blood,” understanding αἷμα (aima) as a blood-red color rather than actual blood (L&N 8.64).

[6:13]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.

[6:13]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn Grk “great wind.”