Yesaya 5:30

5:30 At that time ¹  they will growl over their prey, ² 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ³ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ⁴ 

Yesaya 9:1-2

9:1 (8:23) ⁵  The gloom will be dispelled for those who were anxious. ⁶ 

In earlier times he ⁷  humiliated

the land of Zebulun,

and the land of Naphtali; ⁸ 

but now he brings honor ⁹ 

to the way of the sea,

the region beyond the Jordan,

and Galilee of the nations. ¹⁰ 

9:2 (9:1) The people walking in darkness

see a bright light; ¹¹ 

light shines

on those who live in a land of deep darkness. ¹² 

Yesaya 15:5-6

15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, ¹³ 

and for the fugitives ¹⁴  stretched out ¹⁵  as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.

For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;

they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. ¹⁶ 

15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; ¹⁷ 

the grass is dried up,

the vegetation has disappeared,

and there are no plants.

Yeremia 13:16

13:16 Show the Lord your God the respect that is due him. ¹⁸ 

Do it before he brings the darkness of disaster. ¹⁹ 

Do it before you stumble ²⁰  into distress

like a traveler on the mountains at twilight. ²¹ 

Do it before he turns the light of deliverance you hope for

into the darkness and gloom of exile. ²² 

Yeremia 30:6-7

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ²³ 

Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?

Why then do I see all these strong men

grabbing their stomachs in pain like ²⁴  a woman giving birth?

And why do their faces

turn so deathly pale?

30:7 Alas, what a terrible time of trouble it is! ²⁵ 

There has never been any like it.

It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob,

but some of them will be rescued out of it. ²⁶ 

Amos 5:18-20

The Lord Demands Justice

5:18 Woe ²⁷  to those who wish for the day of the Lord!

Why do you want the Lord’s day of judgment to come?

It will bring darkness, not light.

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ²⁸ 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ²⁹  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

5:20 Don’t you realize the Lord’s day of judgment will bring ³⁰  darkness, not light –

gloomy blackness, not bright light?

Zefanya 1:14-15

1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment ³¹  is almost here;

it is approaching very rapidly!

There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;

at that time warriors will cry out in battle. ³² 

1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, ³³ 

a day of distress and hardship,

a day of devastation and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and dark skies,

Matius 8:12

8:12 but the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ³⁴ 

Matius 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ³⁵  after the suffering ³⁶  of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ³⁷ 

Lukas 21:25-26

The Arrival of the Son of Man

21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, ³⁸  and on the earth nations will be in distress, ³⁹  anxious ⁴⁰  over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. 21:26 People will be fainting from fear ⁴¹  and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ⁴² 

Yudas 1:13

1:13 wild sea waves, ⁴³  spewing out the foam of ⁴⁴  their shame; ⁴⁵  wayward stars ⁴⁶  for whom the utter depths of eternal darkness ⁴⁷  have been reserved.

[5:30]  ¹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ² tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ³ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ⁴ tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”

[5:30]  sn The motif of light turning to darkness is ironic when compared to v. 20. There the sinners turn light (= moral/ethical good) to darkness (= moral/ethical evil). Now ironically the Lord will turn light (= the sinners’ sphere of existence and life) into darkness (= the judgment and death).

[9:1]  ⁵ sn In the Hebrew text (BHS) the chapter division comes one verse later than in the English Bible; 9:1 (8:23 HT). Thus 9:2-21 in the English Bible = 9:1-20 in the Hebrew text. Beginning with 10:1 the verse numbers in the English Bible and the Hebrew Bible are again the same.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text reads, “Indeed there is no gloom for the one to whom there was anxiety for her.” The feminine singular pronominal suffix “her” must refer to the land (cf. vv. 22a, 23b). So one could translate, “Indeed there will be no gloom for the land which was anxious.” In this case the statement introduces the positive message to follow. Some assume an emendation of לֹא (lo’, “no”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”) and of לָהּ (lah, “to her”) to לוֹ (lo, “to him”), yielding this literal reading: “indeed there is gloom for him, for the one to whom there was anxiety for him.” In this case the statement concludes the preceding description of judgment.

[9:1]  ⁷ tn The Lord must be understood as the subject of the two verbs in this verse.

[9:1]  ⁸ sn The statement probably alludes to the Assyrian conquest of Israel in ca. 734-733 b.c., when Tiglath-pileser III annexed much of Israel’s territory and reduced Samaria to a puppet state.

[9:1]  ⁹ tn Heb Just as in earlier times he humiliated…, [in] the latter times he has brought honor.” The main verbs in vv. 1b-4 are Hebrew perfects. The prophet takes his rhetorical stance in the future age of restoration and describes future events as if they have already occurred. To capture the dramatic effect of the original text, the translation uses the English present or present perfect.

[9:1]  ¹⁰ sn These three geographical designations may refer to provinces established by the Assyrians in 734-733 b.c. The “way of the sea” is the province of Dor, along the Mediterranean coast, the “region beyond the Jordan” is the province of Gilead in Transjordan, and “Galilee of the nations” (a title that alludes to how the territory had been overrun by foreigners) is the province of Megiddo located west of the Sea of Galilee. See Y. Aharoni, Land of the Bible, 374.

[9:2]  ¹¹ sn The darkness symbolizes judgment and its effects (see 8:22); the light represents deliverance and its effects, brought about by the emergence of a conquering Davidic king (see vv. 3-6).

[9:2]  ¹² tn Traditionally צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet) has been interpreted as a compound noun, meaning “shadow of death” (so KJV, ASV, NIV), but usage indicates that the word, though it sometimes refers to death, means “darkness.” The term should probably be repointed as an abstract noun צַלְמוּת (tsalmut). See the note at Ps 23:4.

[15:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.

[15:5]  ¹⁴ tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.

[15:5]  ¹⁵ tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[15:5]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”

[15:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”

[13:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Give glory/respect to the Lord your God.” For this nuance of the word “glory” (כָּבוֹד, kavod), see BDB 459 s.v. כָּבוֹד 6.b and compare the usage in Mal 1:6 and Josh 7:19.

[13:16]  ¹⁹ tn The words “of disaster” are not in the text. They are supplied in the translation to explain the significance of the metaphor to readers who may not be acquainted with the metaphorical use of light and darkness for salvation and joy and distress and sorrow respectively.

[13:16]  sn For the metaphorical use of these terms the reader should consult O. A. Piper, “Light, Light and Darkness,” IDB 3:130-32. For the association of darkness with the Day of the Lord, the time when he will bring judgment, see, e.g., Amos 5:18-20. For the association of darkness with exile see Isa 9:1-2 (8:23-9:1 HT).

[13:16]  ²⁰ tn Heb “your feet stumble.”

[13:16]  ²¹ tn Heb “you stumble on the mountains at twilight.” The added words are again supplied in the translation to help explain the metaphor to the uninitiated reader.

[13:16]  ²² tn Heb “and while you hope for light he will turn it into deep darkness and make [it] into gloom.” The meaning of the metaphor is again explained through the addition of the “of” phrases for readers who are unacquainted with the metaphorical use of these terms.

[13:16]  sn For the meaning and usage of the term “deep darkness” (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet), see the notes on Jer 2:6. For the association of the term with exile see Isa 9:2 (9:1 HT). For the association of the word gloom with the Day of the Lord see Isa 60:2; Joel 2:2; Zeph 1:15.

[30:6]  ²³ tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”

[30:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.

[30:7]  ²⁵ tn Heb “Alas [or Woe] for that day will be great.” For the use of the particle “Alas” to signal a time of terrible trouble, even to sound the death knell for someone, see the translator’s note on 22:13.

[30:7]  sn The reference to a terrible time of trouble (Heb “that day”) is a common shorthand reference in the prophets to “the Day of the Lord.” The “Day of the Lord” refers to a time when God intervenes in judgment against the wicked. The time referent can be either near or far, referring to something as near as the Assyrian threat in the time of Ahaz (Isa 7:18, 20, 21, 23) or as distant as the eschatological battle of God against Gog when he attacks Israel (Ezek 38:14, 18). The judgment can be against Israel’s enemies and result in Israel’s deliverance (Jer 50:30-34). At other times as here the Day of the Lord involves judgment on Israel itself. Here reference is to the judgment that the northern kingdom, Israel, has already experienced (cf., e.g., Jer 3:8) and which the southern kingdom, Judah, is in the process of experiencing and which Jeremiah has lamented over several times and even described in hyperbolic and apocalyptic terms in Jer 4:19-31.

[30:7]  ²⁶ tn Heb “It is a time of trouble for Jacob but he will be saved out of it.”

[30:7]  sn Jacob here is figurative for the people descended from him. Moreover the figure moves from Jacob = descendants of Jacob to only a part of those descendants. Not all of his descendants who have experienced and are now experiencing trouble will be saved. Only a remnant (i.e., the good figs, cf., e.g., Jer 23:3; 31:7) will see the good things that the Lord has in store for them (Jer 24:5-6). The bad figs will suffer destruction through war, starvation, and disease (cf., e.g., Jer 24:8-10 among many other references).

[5:18]  ²⁷ tn The term הוֹי (hoy, “woe”) was used when mourning the dead (see the note on the word “dead” in 5:16). The prophet here either engages in role playing and mourns the death of the nation in advance or sarcastically taunts those who hold to this misplaced belief.

[5:19]  ²⁸ tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ²⁹ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[5:20]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Will not the day of the Lord be.”

[1:14]  ³¹ tn Heb “The great day of the Lord.” The words “of judgment” are supplied in the translation here and later in this verse for clarity. See the note on the expression “day of judgment” in v. 7.

[1:14]  ³² tn Heb “the sound of the day of the Lord, bitter [is] one crying out there, a warrior.” The present translation does four things: (1) It takes מַר (mar, “bitter”) with what precedes (contrary to the accentuation of the MT). (2) It understands the participle צָרַח (tsarakh, “cry out in battle”) as verbal with “warrior” as its subject. (3) It takes שָׁם (sham, “there”) in a temporal sense, meaning “then, at that time.” (4) It understands “warrior” as collective.

[1:15]  ³³ tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.

[8:12]  ³⁴ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[24:29]  ³⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[24:29]  ³⁶ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

[24:29]  ³⁷ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.

[21:25]  ³⁸ sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.

[21:25]  ³⁹ tn Grk “distress of nations.”

[21:25]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).

[21:26]  ⁴¹ tn According to L&N 23.184 this could be mainly a psychological experience rather than actual loss of consciousness. It could also refer to complete discouragement because of fear, leading people to give up hope (L&N 25.293).

[21:26]  ⁴² sn An allusion to Isa 34:4. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.

[1:13]  ⁴³ tn Grk “wild waves of the sea.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “foaming, causing to foam.” The verb form is intensive and causative. BDAG 360 s.v. ἐπαφρίζω suggests the meaning “to cause to splash up like froth, cause to foam,” or, in this context, “waves casting up their own shameless deeds like (dirty) foam.”

[1:13]  ⁴⁵ tn Grk “shames, shameful things.” It is uncertain whether shameful deeds or shameful words are in view. Either way, the picture has taken a decided turn: Though waterless clouds and fruitless trees may promise good things, but deliver nothing, wild sea-waves are portents of filth spewed forth from the belly of the sea.

[1:13]  ⁴⁶ sn The imagery of a star seems to fit the nautical theme that Jude is developing. Stars were of course the guides to sailors at night, just as teachers are responsible to lead the flock through a benighted world. But false teachers, as wayward stars, are not fixed and hence offer unreliable, even disastrous guidance. They are thus both the dangerous reefs on which the ships could be destroyed and the false guides, leading them into these rocks. There is a special irony that these lights will be snuffed out, reserved for the darkest depths of eternal darkness.

[1:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Grk “utter darkness of darkness for eternity.” See note on the word “utter” in v. 6.