'Day' in the Bible

The Lord utters His voice before His army,For His camp is very great,Because strong and powerful is he who [obediently] carries out His word.For the day of the Lord is indeed great and very terrible [causing dread];Who can endure it?

Blow a trumpet in Zion [warning of impending judgment],Dedicate a fast [as a day of restraint and humility], call a solemn assembly.

“But I will remove the northern army far away from you,And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,With its forward guard into the eastern sea (Dead Sea)And with its rear guard into the western sea (Mediterranean Sea).And its stench will arise and its foul odor of decay will come up [this is the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord],For He has done great things.”

“The sun will be turned into darknessAnd the moon into bloodBefore the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (judgment)!For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision [when judgment is executed].

And in that dayThe mountains will drip with sweet wineAnd the hills will flow with milk;And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water,And a fountain will go out from the house of the LordTo water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.

“So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]And it shall devour its strongholdsAmid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle,And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].

“Even the bravest among the warriors shall flee naked on that day,” says the Lord.

“On that day when I punish Israel’s transgressions,I shall also punish the altars of Bethel [with their golden calves];And the horns of the altar shall be cut offAnd fall to the ground.

He who made the [cluster of stars called] Pleiades and [the constellation] Orion,Who turns deep darkness into the morningAnd darkens the day into night,Who calls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The Lord is His name.

Woe (judgment is coming) to you who desire the day of the Lord [expecting rescue from the Gentiles]!Why would you want the day of the Lord?It is darkness (judgment) and not light [and rescue and prosperity];

Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, instead of light,Even very dark with no brightness in it?

Do you put off the day of punishment,Yet cause the seat of violence to come near?

In that day, the songs of the palace shall turn to wailing,” says the Lord God. “There will be many dead bodies; in [sacred] silence they will throw them everywhere.”

“It shall come about in that day,” says the Lord God,“That I shall cause the sun to go down at noon,And I shall darken the earth in broad daylight.

“And I shall turn your festivals and feasts into mourningAnd all your songs into dirges (funeral poems to be sung);And I shall cause sackcloth to be put on everyone’s loinsAnd baldness on every head [shaved for mourning].And I shall make that time like a time of mourning for an only son [who has died],And the end of it shall be like a bitter day.

“In that day the beautiful virginsAnd [even the vigorous] young men shall faint from thirst.

“In that day I shall raise up and restore the fallen tabernacle (booth) of David,And wall up its breaches [in the city walls];I will also raise up and restore its ruinsAnd rebuild it as it was in the days of old,

“Will I not on that day,” says the Lord,“Destroy the wise men from Edom [removing all wisdom]And understanding from the mountain of Esau?

“On the day that [Jerusalem was destroyed] you stood aloof [from your brother Jacob]—On the day that strangers took his forces captive and carried off his wealth,And foreigners entered his gatesAnd cast lots for Jerusalem [dividing the city for plunder]—You too were like one of them [collaborating with the enemy].

“Do not gaze and gloat [in triumph] over your brother’s day,The day when his misfortune came.Do not rejoice over the sons of JudahIn the day of their destruction;Do not speak arrogantly [jeering and maliciously mocking]In the day of their distress.

“Do not enter the gate of My peopleIn the day of their disaster;Yes, you, do not look [with delight] on their miseryIn the day of their ruin,And do not loot treasuresIn the day of their ruin.

“Do not stand at the crossroadTo cut down those [of Judah] who escaped;And do not hand over [to the enemy] those [of Judah] who surviveIn the day of their distress.

“For the [judgment] day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.As you have done, it shall be done to you [in retribution];Your [evil] dealings will return on your own head.

But God prepared a worm when morning dawned the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered.

“On that day they shall take up a [taunting, deriding] parable against youAnd wail with a doleful and bitter song of mourning and say,‘We are completely destroyed!God exchanges the inheritance of my people;How He removes it from me!He divides our fields to the rebellious [our captors].’

Therefore it will be night (tragedy) for you—without vision,And darkness (cataclysm) for you—without foresight.The sun shall go down on the [false] prophets,And the day shall become dark and black over them.

“In that day,” says the Lord,“I shall assemble the lame,And gather the outcasts [from foreign captivity],Even those whom I have caused pain.

“And in that day,” says the Lord,“I will cut off your horses from among youAnd destroy your chariots [on which you depend].

The best of them is [injurious] like a briar;The most upright is [prickly] like a thorn hedge.The day of your watchmen [that is, the time predicted by the prophets]And your punishment comes;Now shall be their confusion.

It shall be a day for building your walls,On that day the boundary [of Israel] shall be [greatly] extended.

It shall be a day when the Gentiles will come to youFrom Assyria and from the cities of Egypt,And from Egypt even to the river Euphrates,From sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

The Lord is good,A strength and stronghold in the day of trouble;He knows [He recognizes, cares for, and understands fully] those who take refuge and trust in Him.

Like tangled thorn branches [gathered for fuel],And like those drowned in drunkenness,The people of Nineveh are consumed [through fire]Like stubble completely withered and dry [in the day of the Lord’s wrath].

The shields of his soldiers [of Media and Babylon] are colored red;The warriors are dressed in scarlet.The chariots blaze with fire of [flashing] steelWhen he is prepared to march,And the cypress spears are brandished [for battle].

Your guardsmen are like the swarming locusts.Your marshals are like the hordes of grasshoppersSettling in the stone walls on a cold day.When the sun rises, they fly away,And no one knows the place where they are.

“For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] timeIt hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail.Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it,Because it will certainly come; it will not delay.

I heard and my whole inner self trembled;My lips quivered at the sound.Decay and rottenness enter my bones,And I tremble in my place.Because I must wait quietly for the day of distress,For the people to arise who will invade and attack us.

[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]!For the day [of the vengeance] of the Lord is near,For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice (Judah),He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon].

“Then it will come about on the day of the Lord’s sacrificeThat I will punish the princes and the king’s sonsAnd all who are clothed in [lavish] foreign apparel [reflecting their paganism].

“On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold,Who fill their [pagan] lord’s temple with violence and deceit.

“On that day,” declares the Lord,“There will be the sound of crying from the Fish (Damascus) Gate [in the northern wall of Jerusalem where invaders enter]And wailing from the Second Quarter [of the city],And a loud crash from the hills.

The great [judgment] day of the Lord is near,Near and coming very quickly.Listen! The [voice of the] day of the Lord!The warrior cries out bitterly [unable to fight or to flee].

That day is a day of [the outpouring of the] wrath [of God],A day of trouble and distress,A day of destruction and devastation,A day of darkness and gloom,A day of clouds and thick darkness,

A day of trumpet and the battle cry [of invaders]Against the fortified citiesAnd against the high corner towers (battlements).

Neither their silver nor their goldWill be able to rescue themOn the day of the Lord’s indignation and wrath.And the whole earth will be consumedIn the fire of His jealous wrath,For He shall make a full and complete end,Indeed a terrifying one,Of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Before the decree takes effect [and the time for repentance is lost]—The day passes like the chaff [whirled by the wind]—Before the burning and fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you,Before the day of the wrath of the Lord comes upon you.

Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life],All you humble of the landWho have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments;Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital].Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued]In the day of the Lord’s anger.

“Therefore [you of the godly remnant of Judah, patiently] wait for Me,” declares the Lord,“[Wait] for the day when I rise up as a witness [against the nations].For it is My decision and My right to gather the nations,To assemble kingdoms,To pour out on them My indignation,All [the heat of] My burning anger;For [in that day] all the earth shall be consumedBy the fire of My zeal.

“On that day you [Israel] will feel no shameBecause of all your actsBy which you have rebelled and sinned against Me;Then I will remove from among youYour rejoicing ones who delight in their pride;And you will never again behave arrogantlyOn My holy mountain [Mount Zion].

Shout for joy, O Daughter of Zion!Shout in triumph, O Israel!Rejoice, be in high spirits and glory with all your heart,O Daughter of Jerusalem [in that day]!

In that day it will be said to Jerusalem:“Do not be afraid, O Zion;Do not let your hands fall limp.

In the second year of Darius the king [of Persia], on the first day of the sixth month (Aug 29, 520 b.c.), the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying,

on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month (Sept 21, 520 b.c.) in the second year of Darius the king.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month (Oct 17, 520 b.c., the second year of Darius king of Persia), the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai, saying,

On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month (Dec 18, 520 b.c.), in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to Haggai the prophet, saying,

But now, do consider [what will happen] from this day forward: before one stone was placed on another in the temple of the Lord,

‘Do consider from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month; from the day when the temple of the Lord was founded, consider:

Is the seed still in the barn? As to the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree—they have not produced. Yet from this day on I will bless you [in the harvest of your crops].’”

And again the word of the Lord came to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month (Dec 18, 520 b.c.), saying,

On that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, My servant,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you [through the Messiah, your descendant] like a signet ring, for I have chosen you [as the one with whom to renew My covenant to David’s line],’” declares the Lord of hosts.

Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts (armies), “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I shall return to you.

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (Feb 15, 519 b.c.), which is the month of Shebat, in the second year of [the reign of] Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah the prophet, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo, as follows:

Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day and shall be My people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know (recognize, understand fully) that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.

For behold, the stone which I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes (symbolizing infinite intelligence, omniscience). Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the wickedness and guilt of this land in a single day.

In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and his fig tree [enjoying peace and prosperity in the kingdom].’”

Who [with reason] despises the day of small things (beginnings)? For these seven [eyes] shall rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord which roam throughout the earth.”

“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah [as representatives]; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

In the fourth year of [the reign of] King Darius [of Persia], the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, which is Chislev (Dec 7, 518 b.c.).

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt.

And the Lord their God shall save them on that dayAs the flock of His people;For they are like the [precious] jewels of a crown,Displayed and glittering in His land.

So the covenant was broken on that day, and thus the most wretched of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord.

And in that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will come and be gathered against it.

In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.

“In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, and like a flaming torch among sheaves [of grain]. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and the people of Jerusalem will again live [securely] in their own place, in Jerusalem.

In that day the Lord will defend the people of Jerusalem, and the one who is impaired among them in that day [of persecution] will become [strong and noble] like David; and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord [who is] before them.

And in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of [the city of] Hadadrimmon in the Valley of Megiddo [over beloved King Josiah].

“In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the people of Jerusalem for [cleansing from] sin and impurity.

“In that day,” declares the Lord of hosts, “I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. I will also remove the [false] prophets and the unclean spirit from the land.

And in that day the [false] prophets will each be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies, and they will not wear a hairy robe [of true prophets] in order to deceive,

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you (Jerusalem) will be divided in your midst.

Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

In that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, which lies before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from the east to the west by a very large valley, and half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south.

In that day there will be no light; the glorious ones (heavenly bodies) shall be darkened.

But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord—not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light.

And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord shall be the only one [worshiped], and His name the only one.

In that day a great panic and dismay from the Lord will fall on them; and they will seize one another’s hand, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.

In that day there will be written on the little bells on the horses, “HOLY TO The Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be [holy to the Lord] like the bowls before the altar.

Every cooking pot in [all the houses in] Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take them and boil [their sacrifices] in them. And in that day there will no longer be a Canaanite [that is, any godless or spiritually unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts.

But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s soap [which removes impurities and uncleanness].

“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on that day when I publicly recognize them and openly declare them to be My own possession [that is, My very special treasure]. And I will have compassion on them and spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant (proud, self-righteous, haughty), and every evildoer shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

‘Give us this day our daily bread.

“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Many will say to Me on that day [when I judge them], ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and driven out demons in Your name, and done many miracles in Your name?’

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that city [since it rejected the Messiah’s messenger].