Zephaniah 1:7

1:7 Be silent before the Lord God, ¹ 

for the Lord’s day of judgment ²  is almost here. ³ 

The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; ⁴ 

he has ritually purified ⁵  his guests.

Jeremiah 30:7

30:7 Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! ⁶ 

There has never been any like it.

It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob,

but some of them will be rescued out of it. ⁷ 

Ezekiel 30:3

30:3 For the day is near,

the day of the Lord is near;

it will be a day of storm clouds, ⁸ 

it will be a time of judgment ⁹  for the nations.

Joel 2:1

The Locusts’ Devastation

2:1 Blow the trumpet ¹⁰  in Zion;

sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!

Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,

for the day of the Lord is about to come.

Indeed, ¹¹  it is near! ¹² 

Joel 2:11

2:11 The voice of the Lord thunders ¹³  as he leads his army. ¹⁴ 

Indeed, his warriors ¹⁵  are innumerable; ¹⁶ 

Surely his command is carried out! ¹⁷ 

Yes, the day of the Lord is awesome ¹⁸ 

and very terrifying – who can survive ¹⁹  it?

Joel 2:31

2:31 The sunlight will be turned to darkness

and the moon to the color of blood, ²⁰ 

before the day of the Lord comes –

that great and terrible day!

Malachi 4:5

4:5 Look, I will send you Elijah ²¹  the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Acts 2:20

2:20 The sun will be changed to darkness

and the moon to blood

before the great and glorious ²²  day of the Lord comes.

Revelation 6:17

6:17 because the great day of their ²³  wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” ²⁴ 

[1:7]  ¹ tn Heb “Lord Lord.” The phrase אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה (adonai yÿhvih) is customarily rendered by Jewish tradition as “Lord God.”

[1:7]  ² tn Heb “the day of the Lord.”

[1:7]  ³ tn Or “near.”

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “a sacrifice.” This same word also occurs in the following verse.

[1:7]  ⁵ tn Or “consecrated” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[30:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “Alas [or Woe] for that day will be great.” For the use of the particle “Alas” to signal a time of terrible trouble, even to sound the death knell for someone, see the translator’s note on 22:13.

[30:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “It is a time of trouble for Jacob but he will be saved out of it.”

[30:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “a day of clouds.” The expression occurs also in Joel 2:2 and Zeph 1:15; it recalls the appearance of God at Mount Sinai (Exod 19:9, 16, 18).

[30:3]  ⁹ tn Heb “a time.” The words “of judgment” have been added in the translation for clarification (see the following verses).

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn The word translated “trumpet” here (so most English versions) is the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofar). The shophar was a wind instrument made from a cow or ram’s horn and used as a military instrument for calling people to attention in the face of danger or as a religious instrument for calling people to occasions of communal celebration.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn Or “for.”

[2:1]  ¹² sn The interpretation of 2:1-11 is very difficult. Four views may be mentioned here. (1) Some commentators understand this section to be describing a human invasion of Judah on the part of an ancient army. The exact identity of this army (e.g., Assyrian or Babylonian) varies among interpreters depending upon issues of dating for the book of Joel. (2) Some commentators take the section to describe an eschatological scene in which the army according to some is human, or according to others is nonhuman (i.e., angelic). (3) Some interpreters argue for taking the section to refer to the potential advent in the fall season of a severe east wind (i.e., Sirocco) that would further exacerbate the conditions of the land described in chapter one. (4) Finally, some interpreters understand the section to continue the discussion of locust invasion and drought described in chapter one, partly on the basis that there is no clear exegetical evidence in 2:1-11 to suggest a shift of referent from that of chapter one.

[2:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “the Lord gives his voice.”

[2:11]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “before his army.”

[2:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “military encampment.”

[2:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “very large.”

[2:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he makes his word powerful.”

[2:11]  ¹⁸ tn Or “powerful.” Heb “great.”

[2:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “endure.” The MT and LXX read “endure,” while one of the Qumran manuscripts (4QXXII^c) has “bear.”

[2:31]  ²⁰ 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.

[4:5]  ²¹ sn I will send you Elijah the prophet. In light of the ascension of Elijah to heaven without dying (2 Kgs 2:11), Judaism has always awaited his return as an aspect of the messianic age (see, e.g., John 1:19-28). Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah, because he came in the “spirit and power” of his prototype Elijah (Matt 11:14; 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36).

[2:20]  ²² tn Or “and wonderful.”

[6:17]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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).