Joel 2:10
What does Joel 2:10 mean?
A plain-English look at Joel 2:10 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.
What Joel 2:10 means
The scale of the invasion is so immense that it evokes a cosmic response: the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, and the celestial bodies lose their light. The sun, moon, and stars are darkened, intensifying the sense of universal disruption and judgment. This portrays the day of the Lord not merely as a local disaster but as an event of such profound significance that it impacts the entire created order, signaling divine wrath and an overturning of natural rhythms in response to human sin.
Parallel translations
WEB
World English Bible · 2000The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
KJV
King James Version · 1611The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
ASV
American Standard Version · 1901The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
BBE
Bible in Basic English · 1949The earth is troubled before them and the heavens are shaking: the sun and the moon have become dark, and the stars keep back their shining:
YLT
Young's Literal Translation · 1862At their face trembled hath the earth, Shaken have the heavens, Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.
DRA
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752At their presence the earth hath trembled, the heavens are moved: the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.
DBY
Darby Bible · 1890The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Context
After detailing the ground-level invasion and the army's entry into the city, Joel now expands the scope of the judgment to encompass the entire cosmos. This verse uses powerful imagery of natural phenomena, like a trembling earth and darkened heavens, to illustrate the overwhelming magnitude of the day of the Lord, setting a grander stage for God's personal involvement in the next verse.
v.9They leap upon the city; they run upon the wall; they climb up into the houses; they enter in at the windows like a thief.
v.10This passage
v.11And Jehovah uttereth his voice before his army; for his camp is very great; for he is strong that executeth his word; for the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Cross references
Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.
- Revelation 6:12
And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood;
- Matthew 24:29
But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall 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:
- Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt; and the earth is upheaved at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein.
- Joel 2:31
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh.
- Isaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine.
- Mark 13:24
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
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