And I will cause wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below— blood and fire and clouds of smoke.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
- KJV And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
- BSB I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
- NKJV I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
- NASB ‘And I will display wonders in the sky above And signs on the earth below, Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joel foretold wonders in the sky and signs on the earth of blood, fire, and smoke. It points to God's awesome acts surrounding the day of the Lord.
Overview
These cosmic signs accompany the unfolding of God's redemptive purposes. Faithful Christians differ on how far these are fulfilled at Pentecost versus the final day of the Lord; Peter cites them to show the prophesied era has begun. They underscore the seriousness of God's saving and judging work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Joel 2:30–31I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
- Zeph 1:14–18The great day of Yahweh is near. It is near, and hurries greatly, the voice of the day of Yahweh. The mighty man cries there bitterly.
- Mal 4:1–6“For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up,” says Yahweh of Armies, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.
How Acts 2:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.