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I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
Joel 2:30 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
  • KJV And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
  • NKJV “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
  • NASB “I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
  • NLT And I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth— blood and fire and columns 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

God will show wonders in the heavens and on earth, including blood, fire, and pillars of smoke. These signs accompany the coming day of Yahweh.

Overview

Alongside the Spirit's outpouring, God foretells cosmic and earthly portents heralding His great day. Peter cites these signs at Pentecost as part of the era inaugurated by Christ (Acts 2:19). Such wonders mark the unfolding of God's redemptive purposes and point toward the final day of the Lord, warning all to be ready through salvation in Christ.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 13

  • Acts 2:19–20I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
  • Luke 21:11There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
  • Matt 24:29Immediately 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.’
  • Luke 21:25–26There 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.
  • Mark 13:24–25But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
  • Judg 20:40But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke.
  • Rev 6:12–17And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
  • Gen 19:28He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the plain, and he saw the smoke rising from the land like smoke from a furnace.
  • Rev 18:9Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.
  • Rev 18:18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.
  • Song 3:6Who is this coming up from the wilderness like a column of smoke, scented with myrrh and frankincense from all the spices of the merchant?
  • Judg 20:38The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,
  • Josh 8:20When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joel 2:30YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The promised outpouring of the Spirit on all flesh and the call to 'everyone who calls on the name of the LORD' are fulfilled at Pentecost in the name of Jesus.

How Joel 2:30 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 Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.