Joel 3:15 (DRB)

Passage

The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.

Nearby Context

Joel 3:13 Put ye in the sickles, for the harvest is ripe: come and go down, for the press is full, the fats run over: for their wickedness is multiplied.

Joel 3:14 Nations, nations in the valley of destruction: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of destruction.

Joel 3:15 The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining.

Joel 3:16 And the Lord shall roar out of Sion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem: and the heavens and the earth shall be moved, and the Lord shall be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Joel 3:17 And you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Sion, my holy mountain: and Jerusalem shall be holy, and strangers shall pass through it no more.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moon", "darkened", "stars", "withdrawn", and "shining". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moon" and "darkened", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Nations nations in the valley of destruction..." into verse 16's "And the Lord shall roar out of...", so "moon" and "darkened" belong inside that flow. In Joel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "moon" and "darkened" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.