Isaiah 13:10
in Isaiah 13For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine.
KJV
For 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.
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This verse in Isaiah 13
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 10) For the stars of the heavens and their splendor will not extend their light; the sun will be darkened at its rising, and the moon will not shine with its light. The Hebrew word Chisile () was translated as ὠρίωνα in the Septuagint. The Hebrews, with whom I studied, translated it as Arcturus. However, following Symmachus, we generally referred to it as a constellation.
This site's exposition
cruel both with wrath and fierce anger
on Isaiah 13:9-13
Cruel both with wrath and fierce anger describes the day of the Lord in language that reaches past Babylon's fall to the Medes: stars withheld, sun darkened, moon giving no light, the heavens shaken and the earth removed out of her place. The older commentators name this widening honestly. Some read the cosmic language as poetic force fitted to a real historical collapse, the sun going dark being the standard prophetic figure for the fall of a ruling power, while others hear the oracle's horizon stretch past the fall of Babylon toward the final day of the Lord the same phrase names elsewhere in the prophets. Both readings stand on the same verses, and the text itself does not choose between the near event and the far one it borrows its language from.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 10.) For the stars of heaven and their splendor will not expand their light: the sun will be obscured in its rising, and the moon will not shine in its brightness. LXX: For the stars of heaven and Orion, and all the adornment of the heavens will not give their light (or, will have it): and they will be darkened when the sun rises, and the moon will not give its light. Because we have interpreted the splendor of them, without a doubt the stars Aquila and Theodotion have placed the Hebrew word "Chisileem" (): for which reason the LXX translated it as Orion, adding from their own, and all the adornment of the heavens, which is to be marked with an obelus. The fables of the Gentiles say that Orion has twenty-two stars, of which four are of the third magnitude, nine of the fourth, and again nine of the fifth, and they are called Bootes by others. We also read in Job about the Hyades, the Evening Star, Arcturus, and the treasures or inner parts of the South (Job 9:9), about which will be said in their proper place. Nor should we think that these stars are called by these names among the Hebrews, which the Greek and Latin language sound forth, but they have their own proper names. For just as God called light, day; and firmament, heaven; and dry land, earth; and gatherings of waters, seas (Gen. I); so too he named each star with its own names, the properties of which our language does not express. It is written of God in another place: Who numbers the multitude of stars: and calls each of them by name. Therefore, when the day of the Lord comes to establish the barrenness of the earth and to completely remove sinners from it (Ps. CXLVI, 4); then, in comparison to the divine majesty, the stars of the sky and all their splendor will withdraw their light. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
It is also expressed in the removal of comfort: for the stars of heaven, and their brightness shall not display their light, either literally as how they are reckoned, for all things seem dark to the afflicted; or the stars, the princes; the sun in …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
For the stars of heaven,....
The heavens frowning thus is an indication of the displeasure of the God of heaven. When things look dark on earth, yet it is well enough if all be clear upwards; but, if we have no comfort thence, wherewith shall we be comforted? God will visit them for their iniquity; and all this is intended for the punishment of sin, and particularly the sin of pride,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For the stars of heaven “Yea, the stars of heaven” - The Hebrew poets, to express happiness, prosperity, the instauration and advancement of states, kingdoms, and potentates, make use of images taken from the most striking parts of nature, from the heavenly bodies, from the sun, moon, and stars: which they describe as shining with increased splendor, and never setting. The moon becomes like the meridian sun, and the sun’s light is augmented sevenfold; (see Isa 30:26); new heavens and a new earth are created, and a brighter age commences.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
stars, &c.--figuratively for anarchy, distress, and revolutions of kingdoms (Isa 34:4; There may be a literal fulfilment finally, shadowed forth under this imagery (Re 21:1). constellations--Hebrew, "a fool," or "impious one"; applied to the constellation Orion, which was represented as an impious giant (Nimrod deified, the founder of Babylon) chained to the sky.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For the stars of heaven - This verse cannot be understood literally, but is a metaphorical representation of the calamities that were coming upon Babylon The meaning of the figure evidently is, that those calamities would be such as would be appropriately denoted by the sudden extinguishment of the stars, the sun, and the moon. As nothing would tend more to anarchy, distress, and ruin, than thus to have all the lights of heaven suddenly and forever quenched, this was an apt and forcible representation of the awful calamities that were coming upon the people. Darkness and night, in the Scriptures, are often the emblem of calamity and distress (see the note at Mat 24:29). The revolutions and destructions of kingdoms and nations are often represented in the Scriptures under this image. […]
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כוֹכְבֵ֤י | khokhvei | [the] stars of | H3556 → | 37 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּכְסִ֣ילֵיהֶ֔ם | ukhesileihem | and constellations their | H3685 → | |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָהֵ֖לּוּ | yahelu | they will flash forth | H1984 → | 165 times |
| אוֹרָ֑ם | ʾoram | light their | H216 → | 121 times |
| חָשַׁ֤ךְ | chashakh | it will be dark | H2821 → | |
| הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙ | hashemesh | the sun | H8121 → | 134 times |
| בְּצֵאת֔וֹ | betzeto | when goes forth it | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְיָרֵ֖חַ | veyareach | and [the] moon | H3394 → | 27 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַגִּ֥יהַ | yagiha | it will make shine | H5050 → | |
| אוֹרֽוֹ׃ | ʾoro | light its | H216 → | 121 times |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כוֹכְבֵ֤י[the] stars of
khokhveiH3556 →37 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּכְסִ֣ילֵיהֶ֔םand constellations their
ukhesileihemH3685 →
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָהֵ֖לּוּthey will flash forth
yaheluH1984 →165 times
אוֹרָ֑םlight their
ʾoramH216 →121 times
חָשַׁ֤ךְit will be dark
chashakhH2821 →
הַשֶּׁ֙מֶשׁ֙the sun
hashemeshH8121 →134 times
בְּצֵאת֔וֹwhen goes forth it
betzetoH3318 →1067 times
וְיָרֵ֖חַand [the] moon
veyareachH3394 →27 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יַגִּ֥יהַit will make shine
yagihaH5050 →
אוֹרֽוֹ׃light its
ʾoroH216 →121 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 24:29Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
it leads to
- Joel 3:15
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Acts 2:19–20
I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 8:9
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
- Mark 13:24–25
But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
- Isaiah 24:23
The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
- Joel 3:15
Through
Joel 2:31The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.
it leads to
- Revelation 6:12–13
And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
- Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will…
- Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of…
- Revelation 6:12–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.