But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,
Parallel translations
- WEB But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,
- BSB But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
- NKJV “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
- NASB “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light,
- NLT “At that time, after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light,
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
After that tribulation, cosmic signs appear: the sun darkened and the moon giving no light. Creation itself heralds the climactic coming.
Overview
Jesus draws on prophetic imagery (Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:31) of the sun and moon failing, language that signals the great day of the Lord. These signs mark a turning point from the era of tribulation to the visible coming of the Son of Man. Whether read literally, symbolically, or both, they announce that the present order is giving way to God's decisive intervention.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- Isa 13:10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
- Acts 2:19–20And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
- Matt 24:29–31Immediately 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:
- Rev 6:12–14And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
- Joel 2:30–31And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
- 2 Pet 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
- Joel 3:15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
- Amos 5:20Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
- Zeph 1:14–18The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
- Jer 4:23–25I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
- Joel 2:10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
- Dan 12:1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
- Luke 21:25–27And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
- Dan 7:10A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
- Ezek 32:7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
- Rev 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
- Jer 4:28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
- Isa 24:20–23The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
- 2 Pet 3:12Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 13:24 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
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