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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Joel 3:15

"The sky turns black, sun and moon go dark, stars burn out. God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem. Earth and sky quake in terror. But God is a safe hiding place, a granite safe house for the children of Israel. Then you'll know for sure that I'm your God , Living in Zion, my sacred mountain. Jerusalem will be a sacred city, posted: ‘ no trespassing .'

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Colors;   Eclipse;   Joel;   Moon;   Stars;   Sun;   Wicked (People);   Scofield Reference Index - Israel;   The Topic Concordance - Day of the Lord;   Enemies;   Gentiles/heathen;   Harvest;   Israel/jews;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Moon, the;   Stars, the;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Day of the lord;   Stars;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Amos, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Eclipse;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Darkness;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Day of the Lord;   Gentiles;   Joel;   Moon;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Joel, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Thessalonians Epistles to the;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Jehoshaphat (2);   Smith Bible Dictionary - Eclipse of the Sun;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Joel (2);  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The sun and moon will grow dark,and the stars will cease their shining.
Hebrew Names Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining."
King James Version
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
English Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
New American Standard Bible
The sun and moon have become dark, And the stars have lost their brightness.
New Century Version
The sun and the moon will become dark, and the stars will stop shining.
Amplified Bible
The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
Geneva Bible (1587)
The sunne & moone shalbe darkened, and the starres shall withdrawe their light.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.
Legacy Standard Bible
The sun and moon grow dark,And the stars lose their brightness.
Berean Standard Bible
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
Contemporary English Version
no light from the sun or moon, and stars no longer shine.
Complete Jewish Bible
class="poetry"> "After this, I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions; and also on male and female slaves in those days I will pour out my Spirit. I will show wonders in the sky and on earth — blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and terrible Day of Adonai ." At that time, whoever calls on the name of Adonai will be saved. For in Mount Tziyon and Yerushalayim there will be those who escape, as Adonai has promised; among the survivors will be those whom Adonai has called.
Darby Translation
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
Easy-to-Read Version
The sun and the moon will become dark. The stars will stop shining.
George Lamsa Translation
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.
Good News Translation
The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.
Lexham English Bible
The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars have withheld their splendor.
Literal Translation
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall gather in their light.
American Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Bible in Basic English
The sun and the moon have become dark, and the stars keep back their shining.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
[4:15] The sun and the moon are become black, and the stars withdraw their shining.
King James Version (1611)
The Sunne and the Moone shall be darkened, and the starres shall withdraw their shining.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
The sunne and the moone shalbe darkned, and the starres shall withdrawe their light.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light.
English Revised Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
World English Bible
The sun and the moon are darkened, And the stars withdraw their shining."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The sunne and the moone ben maad derk, and sterris withdrowen her schynyng.
Update Bible Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Webster's Bible Translation
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
New English Translation
The sun and moon are darkened; the stars withhold their brightness.
New King James Version
The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.
New Living Translation
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
New Life Bible
The sun and moon become dark, and the stars stop shining.
New Revised Standard
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
The sun and the moon, have become dark, - and, the stars, have withdrawn their shining,
Douay-Rheims Bible
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.
Revised Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Young's Literal Translation
Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The Sonne and Moone shall be darckened, & the starres shal withdrawe their light.

Contextual Overview

9Announce this to the godless nations: Prepare for battle! Soldiers at attention! Present arms! Advance! Turn your shovels into swords, turn your hoes into spears. Let the weak one throw out his chest and say, "I'm tough, I'm a fighter." Hurry up, pagans! Wherever you are, get a move on! Get your act together. Prepare to be shattered by God ! 12 Let the pagan nations set out for Judgment Valley. There I'll take my place at the bench and judge all the surrounding nations. 13 "Swing the sickle— the harvest is ready. Stomp on the grapes— the winepress is full. The wine vats are full, overflowing with vintage evil. 14 "Mass confusion, mob uproar— in Decision Valley! God 's Judgment Day has arrived in Decision Valley. 15"The sky turns black, sun and moon go dark, stars burn out. God roars from Zion, shouts from Jerusalem. Earth and sky quake in terror. But God is a safe hiding place, a granite safe house for the children of Israel. Then you'll know for sure that I'm your God , Living in Zion, my sacred mountain. Jerusalem will be a sacred city, posted: ‘ no trespassing .'

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Joel 2:10, Joel 2:31, Isaiah 13:10, Matthew 24:29, Luke 21:25, Luke 21:26, Revelation 6:12, Revelation 6:13

Reciprocal: Genesis 1:14 - and let Joshua 10:13 - So the sun Isaiah 24:23 - the moon Isaiah 34:4 - all the Jeremiah 4:23 - the heavens Ezekiel 30:18 - the day Ezekiel 32:7 - I will cover the heaven Joel 2:2 - A day of darkness

Cross-References

Genesis 3:1
The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: "Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?"
Genesis 3:4
The serpent told the Woman, "You won't die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you'll see what's really going on. You'll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil."
Genesis 3:6
When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she'd know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Genesis 3:7
Immediately the two of them did "see what's really going on"—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.
Genesis 3:8
When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.
Genesis 3:10
He said, "I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. And I hid."
Genesis 3:13
"The serpent seduced me," she said, "and I ate."
Genesis 3:14
God told the serpent: "Because you've done this, you're cursed, cursed beyond all cattle and wild animals, Cursed to slink on your belly and eat dirt all your life. I'm declaring war between you and the Woman, between your offspring and hers. He'll wound your head, you'll wound his heel."
Psalms 132:11
God gave David his word, he won't back out on this promise: "One of your sons I will set on your throne; If your sons stay true to my Covenant and learn to live the way I teach them, Their sons will continue the line— always a son to sit on your throne. Yes—I, God , chose Zion, the place I wanted for my shrine; This will always be my home; this is what I want, and I'm here for good. I'll shower blessings on the pilgrims who come here, and give supper to those who arrive hungry; I'll dress my priests in salvation clothes; the holy people will sing their hearts out! Oh, I'll make the place radiant for David! I'll fill it with light for my anointed! I'll dress his enemies in dirty rags, but I'll make his crown sparkle with splendor."
Matthew 3:7
When John realized that a lot of Pharisees and Sadducees were showing up for a baptismal experience because it was becoming the popular thing to do, he exploded: "Brood of snakes! What do you think you're doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to make any difference? It's your life that must change, not your skin! And don't think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as father. Being a descendant of Abraham is neither here nor there. Descendants of Abraham are a dime a dozen. What counts is your life. Is it green and blossoming? Because if it's deadwood, it goes on the fire.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The sun and moon shall be darkened,.... Both the politic and ecclesiastic state of antichrist shall be ruined and destroyed; it shall "fare" with Rome Papal as it did with Rome Pagan, at the time of its dissolution; see Revelation 6:12;

and the stars shall withdraw their shining: antichristian princes and nobles in the civil state, and the clergy of all ranks in the church state, shall lose their glory.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The sun and the moon shall be darkened - This may be, either that they shall be outshone by the brightness of the glory of Christ, or that they themselves shall undergo a change, whereof the darkness at the Crucifixion was an image. An ancient writer says ; “As in the dispensation of the Cross the sun failing, there was darkness over all the earth, so when the ‘sign of the Son of man’ appeareth in heaven in the Day of Judgment, the light of the sun and moon and stars shall fail, consumed, as it were by the great might of that sign.” And as the failure of the light of the sun at our Lord’s Passion betokened the shame of nature at the great sin of man, so, at the Day of Judgment, it sets before us the awfulness of God’s judgments, as though “it dared not behold the severity of Him who judgeth and returneth every man’s work upon his own head;” as though “every creature, in the sufferings of others, feared the judgment on itself.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. The sun and the moon shall be darkened — High and mighty states shall be eclipsed, and brought to ruin, and the stars - petty states, princes, and governors-shall withdraw their shining; withhold their influence and tribute from the kingdoms to which they have belonged, and set up themselves as independent governors.


 
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