Matthew 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ¹  after the suffering ²  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. ³ 

Mark 13:24

The Arrival of the Son of Man

13:24 “But in those days, after that suffering, ⁴  the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light;

Luke 21:11

21:11 There will be great earthquakes, and famines ⁵  and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights ⁶  and great signs ⁷  from heaven.

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, ⁸  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ⁹  anxious ¹⁰  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. 21:26 People will be fainting from fear ¹¹  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ¹² 

Acts 2:19-20

2:19 And I will perform wonders in the sky ¹³  above

and miraculous signs ¹⁴  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 ¹⁵  day of the Lord comes.

Revelation 6:12-17

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. 6:14 The sky ²⁴  was split apart ²⁵  like a scroll being rolled up, ²⁶  and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 6:15 Then ²⁷  the kings of the earth, the ²⁸  very important people, the generals, ²⁹  the rich, the powerful, and everyone, slave ³⁰  and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 6:16 They ³¹  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, ³²  6:17 because the great day of their ³³  wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” ³⁴ 

[24:29]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ² tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ³ 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.

[13:24]  ⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[21:11]  ⁵ sn See Isa 5:13-14; 13:6-16; Hag 2:6-7; Zech 14:4.

[21:11]  ⁶ tn This term, φόβητρον (fobhtron), occurs only here in the NT. It could refer to an object, event, or condition that causes fear, but in the context it is linked with great signs from heaven, so the translation “sights” was preferred.

[21:11]  ⁷ sn See Jer 4:13-22; 14:12; 21:6-7.

[21:25]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ¹⁰ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[21:26]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Here the context indicates the miraculous nature of the signs mentioned; this is made explicit in the translation.

[2:20]  ¹⁵ tn Or “and wonderful.”

[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.”

[6:14]  ²⁴ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

[6:14]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[6:15]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[6:16]  ³¹ 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]  ³² 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]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ 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).