Joel 3:15

 Joel 3:15

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

a. ASV: The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.  [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

b. YLT: Sun and moon have been black, And stars have gathered up their shining.  [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. Classic Amplified: The sun and the moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. NLT: The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.  [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

e. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings:[All of the 21 verses Joel 3 in our Bible is Joel 4 in the Jewish Bible]: The sun and the moon have become blackened, and the stars have withdrawn their shine. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

f. The Israel Bible: [All of the 21 verses Joel 3 in our Bible is Joel 4 in the Jewish Bible]: Sun and moon are darkened, And stars withdraw their brightness.  [The English Translation was adapted by Israel 365 from the JPS Tanakh. Copyright Ⓒ 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society. All rights reserved.]

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

a. [The] sun [Strong: 8121 shemesh sheh'-mesh from an unused root meaning to be brilliant; the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (arch.) a notched battlement:--+ east side(-ward), sun ((rising)), + west(-ward), window.]

b. [and the] moon [Strong: 3394 yareach yaw-ray'-akh from the same as 3391; the moon:--moon. Yrechow.]

c. [shall be] darkened [Strong: 6937 qadar kaw-dar' a primitive root; to be ashy, i.e. dark-colored; by implication, to mourn (in sackcloth or sordid garments):--be black(-ish), be (make) dark(-en), X heavily, (cause to) mourn.]

d. [and the] stars [Strong: 3556 kowkab ko-kawb' probably from the same as 3522 (in the sense of rolling) or 3554 (in the sense of blazing); a star (as round or as shining); figuratively, a prince:--star((-gazer)).]

e. [shall] withdraw [Strong: 622 'acaph aw-saf' a primitive root; to gather for any purpose; hence, to receive, take away, i.e. remove (destroy, leave behind, put up, restore, etc.):--assemble, bring, consume, destroy, felch, gather (in, together, up again), X generally, get (him), lose, put all together, receive, recover (another from leprosy), (be) rereward, X surely, take (away, into, up), X utterly, withdraw.]

f. [their] shining [Strong: 5051 nogahh no'-gah from 5050; brilliancy (literally or figuratively):--bright(-ness), light, (clear) shining.]

1). Comparative passage is found in Matthew 24.

a). Matthew 24:27-31 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

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:

24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

2). A couple of other passages also fit in here. The first from Romans and the second a passage from Isaiah that Paul is citing.

a). Romans 11:26, 27 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

11:27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

b). Isaiah 59:19-21 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

59:20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.

59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for ever.

3). In one of his Psalms, David seems to mention it also.

a). Psalm 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

b). The return of Christ is a fulfillment of a Covenant promise.