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.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Peter addresses the assembled crowd at Pentecost, quoting Joel (LXX 3:4) to frame the Spirit's outpouring they just witnessed as the opening of the "last days."

The words — μεταστραφήσεται (metastraphēsetai), "will be turned," carries the prefix μετα- implying reversal of state, not mere dimming; the sun is not eclipsed but turned over into σκός (skotos), darkness.

The thread — Amos 8:9 darkens the sun at noon; Matthew 24:29 pairs the same sun-and-moon disruption with the Son of Man's coming; 2 Peter 3:10 extends the motif to the heavens dissolving entirely.

Why it lands — The verse is sandwiched between cosmic signs (v. 19) and the universal offer of salvation (v. 21); the disruption is not the point but the backdrop that makes the call to call on the Lord urgent rather than optional.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Cross-references

2 Peter 3:10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
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.
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.’
Malachi 4:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Joel 2:1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the Day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Mark 13:24 But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
Luke 21:25 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.
2 Peter 3:7 And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.