Joel 3:15
New International Version
The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.

New Living Translation
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

English Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Berean Standard Bible
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

King James Bible
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

New King James Version
The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.

New American Standard Bible
The sun and moon have become dark, And the stars have lost their brightness.

NASB 1995
The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

NASB 1977
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.

Amplified Bible
The sun and the moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.

Christian Standard Bible
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will cease their shining.

American Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

Contemporary English Version
no light from the sun or moon, and stars no longer shine.

English Revised Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
The sun and the moon will turn dark. The stars will no longer shine.

Good News Translation
The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

International Standard Version
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will stop shining.

Majority Standard Bible
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

NET Bible
The sun and moon are darkened; the stars withhold their brightness.

New Heart English Bible
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.

World English Bible
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Sun and moon have been black, "" And stars have gathered up their shining.

Young's Literal Translation
Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.

Smith's Literal Translation
The sun and the moon were darkened, and the stars took away their shining.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.

Catholic Public Domain Version
The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their splendor.

New American Bible
Sun and moon are darkened, and the stars withhold their brightness,

New Revised Standard Version
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
The sun and the moon were darkened and the light of the stars has set
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
The sun and the moon are become black, And the stars withdraw their shining.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their light.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The LORD Judges the Nations
14Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine. 16The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.…

Cross References
Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Revelation 6:12-13
And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, / and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind.

Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.

Ezekiel 32:7-8
When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. / All the shining lights in the heavens I will darken over you, and I will bring darkness upon your land,’ declares the Lord GOD.

Amos 8:9
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.

Mark 13:24-25
But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; / the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Luke 21:25-26
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves. / Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 8:12
Then the fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun and moon and stars were struck. A third of the stars were darkened, a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.

Isaiah 34:4
All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.

Jeremiah 4:23-28
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light. / I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. / I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled. ...

Zephaniah 1:15
That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,

Acts 2:20
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

Revelation 16:10
And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish

Isaiah 24:23
The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.

Job 9:7
He commands the sun not to shine; He seals off the stars.


Treasury of Scripture

The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

Joel 2:10,31
The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: …

Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

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Black Brightness Dark Darkened Gathered Grow Lose Moon Shine Shining Stars Sun Withdraw
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Joel 3
1. God's judgments against the enemies of his people.
9. God will be known in his judgment.
18. His blessing upon the church.














The sun and moon
In the Hebrew text, the words for "sun" (שֶׁמֶשׁ, shemesh) and "moon" (יָרֵחַ, yareach) are often used symbolically to represent stability and the natural order established by God. Throughout the Bible, these celestial bodies are seen as constants in the sky, marking time and seasons (Genesis 1:14-18). Their mention here in Joel signifies a disruption of the natural order, a common motif in prophetic literature to indicate divine intervention or judgment. This imagery is reminiscent of other prophetic books, such as Isaiah and Ezekiel, where cosmic disturbances herald the Day of the Lord.

will grow dark
The Hebrew verb used here, קָדַר (qadar), means to be dark or to grow dim. This darkness is not merely a physical phenomenon but carries a spiritual and eschatological significance. In the context of Joel, it symbolizes the impending judgment and the awe-inspiring presence of God. The darkening of the sun and moon is a sign of the Lord's power over creation and His ability to alter the natural order to fulfill His divine purposes. This imagery is echoed in the New Testament, particularly in the apocalyptic visions of Revelation.

and the stars
The Hebrew word for "stars" is כּוֹכָבִים (kokhavim). Stars, like the sun and moon, are part of the celestial order created by God. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, stars were often associated with divine beings or heavenly hosts. In the biblical context, the darkening of stars signifies a cosmic upheaval, a theme that underscores the magnitude of God's intervention in human history. This celestial imagery serves to remind the faithful of God's sovereignty over all creation.

will no longer shine
The phrase "will no longer shine" translates the Hebrew verb אָסַף (asaph), which means to gather or to take away. This suggests a cessation of their light-giving function, symbolizing the withdrawal of God's sustaining presence. In the prophetic context, this cessation is a harbinger of the Day of the Lord, a time of both judgment and redemption. The imagery of extinguished stars is a powerful reminder of the transience of earthly powers and the enduring nature of God's kingdom.

Verses 15-17. - These verses picture the accompaniments of the judgment, yet not the judgment itself. Verse 15. - The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The densely packed masses are already in the valley of decision, awaiting the judgment about to be executed upon them. But before the judgment actually bursts upon them, and in preparation for it, the sky is overcast; darkness, as a portent of the approaching storm, envelops them; the lights of heaven are put out. The pitchy darkness of a night in which neither moon nor stars appear is sufficiently dismal and awful; still more terrible, if possible, is darkness in the daytime, when the light of the sun is turned into blackness. The first accompaniment of the storm is addressed to the eye, and consists in the extinguishing of the greater light which rules the day, and the lesser lights which rule the night. The next accompaniment of the coming tempest is addressed to the ear, and consists in the voice of the Lord rolling in terrific peals along the heavens - the voice of the Lord like the roaring of a lion ready to pounce upon its prey: the utterance of the Divine voice when the God of glory thundereth. The third accompaniment is yet more awe-inspiring., consisting in a convulsion that pervades both earth and sky; the whole frame of nature shakes; the earthquake's shock, so frightful to bird and beast and man, has a corresponding agitation in the heavens.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
The sun
שֶׁ֥מֶשׁ (še·meš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 8121: The sun, the east, a ray, a notched battlement

and moon
וְיָרֵ֖חַ (wə·yā·rê·aḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 3394: The moon

grow dark,
קָדָ֑רוּ (qā·ḏā·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6937: To be ashy, darkcolored, to mourn

and the stars
וְכוֹכָבִ֖ים (wə·ḵō·w·ḵā·ḇîm)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3556: A star, a prince

no longer
אָסְפ֥וּ (’ā·sə·p̄ū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 622: To gather for, any purpose, to receive, take away, remove

shine.
נָגְהָֽם׃ (nā·ḡə·hām)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5051: Brilliancy


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OT Prophets: Joel 3:15 The sun and the moon are darkened (Jl Joe.)
Joel 3:14
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