Passage

Joel 2.31

Book: Joel · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"29. and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit. 30. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke."

"31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah cometh."

"32. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call." (Joel 2:29-32, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"29. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit. 30. I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke."

"31. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes."

"32. It will happen that whoever will call on Yahweh’s name shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as Yahweh has said, and among the remnant, those whom Yahweh calls." (Joel 2:29-32, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"29. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke."

"31. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come."

"32. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:29-32, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"29. And also on the men-servants, and on the maid-servants, In those days I do pour out My Spirit. 30. And I have given wonders in the heavens, and in the earth, Blood and fire, and columns of smoke."

"31. The sun is turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, Before the coming of the day of Jehovah, The great and the fearful."

"32. And it hath come to pass, Every one who calleth in the name of Jehovah is delivered, For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there is an escape, As Jehovah hath said, And among the remnants whom Jehovah is calling!" (Joel 2:29-32, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: Joel + LORD direct discourse
Audience: Judah
Location: Judah
Time period: ministry uncertain; possibly c. 835-796 BC or c. 500 BC

Theological reading

Key words

H1818 - dam, dam (Strong's H1818). Also appears in: Genesis 9.6, Exodus 7, Exodus 12.23.
H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.

Quoted in

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.