Joel 3:16

3:16 The Lord roars from Zion;

from Jerusalem ¹  his voice bellows out. ² 

The heavens ³  and the earth shake.

But the Lord is a refuge for his people;

he is a stronghold for the citizens ⁴  of Israel.

Haggai 2:6-7

2:6 Moreover, the Lord who rules over all says: ‘In just a little while ⁵  I will once again shake the sky ⁶  and the earth, the sea and the dry ground. 2:7 I will also shake up all the nations, and they ⁷  will offer their treasures; ⁸  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 ⁹  to shake the sky ¹⁰  and the earth. 2:22 I will overthrow royal thrones and shatter the might of earthly kingdoms. ¹¹  I will overthrow chariots and those who ride them, and horses and their riders will fall as people kill one another. ¹² 

Matthew 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ¹³  after the suffering ¹⁴  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. ¹⁵ 

Hebrews 12:26-27

12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” ¹⁶  12:27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain.

Revelation 6:13-14

6:13 and the stars in the sky ¹⁷  fell to the earth like a fig tree dropping ¹⁸  its unripe figs ¹⁹  when shaken by a fierce ²⁰  wind. 6:14 The sky ²¹  was split apart ²²  like a scroll being rolled up, ²³  and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

[3:16]  ¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:16]  ² tn Heb “he sounds forth his voice.”

[3:16]  ³ tn Or “the sky.” See the note on “sky” in 2:30.

[3:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “sons.”

[2:6]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ tn Heb “all the nations.”

[2:7]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn See the note on the word “sky” in 2:6. Most English translations render the Hebrew term as “heavens” here.

[2:22]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the kingdoms of the nations.” Cf. KJV “the kingdoms of the heathen”; NIV, NLT “foreign kingdoms.”

[2:22]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ¹⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ¹⁵ 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.

[12:26]  ¹⁶ sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.

[6:13]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “throws [off]”; the indicative verb has been translated as a participle due to English style.

[6:13]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Grk “great wind.”

[6:14]  ²¹ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

[6:14]  ²² 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]  ²³ tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”