Isaiah 13:10

10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.

Isaiah 13:10 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
10 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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light.
New Living Translation (NLT)
10 The heavens will be black above them; the stars will give no light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will provide no light.
The Message Bible (MSG)
10 The stars in the sky, the great parade of constellations, will be nothing but black holes. The sun will come up as a black disk, and the moon a blank nothing.
American Standard Version (ASV)
10 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.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
10 The stars in the sky and their constellations won't show their light anymore. The sun will be dark when it rises. The moon won't shine.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
10 Indeed, the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shine.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
10 All of the stars in the sky will stop giving their light. The sun will be darkened as soon as it rises. The moon will not shine.

Isaiah 13:10 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 13:10

For the stars of heaven
This and what follows are to be understood, not literally, but figuratively, as expressive of the dismalness and gloominess of the dispensation, of the horror and terror of it, in which there was no light, no comfort, no relief, nor any hope of any; the heavens and all the celestial bodies frowning upon them, declaring the displeasure of him that dwells there: and the constellations thereof shall not give their light;
which are assemblages of stars, or certain configurations of the heavenly bodies, devised by the ancients; to which each of the names are given for the help of the imagination and memory; the number of them are forty eight, twelve in the Zodiac, twenty one on the northern side of it, and fifteen on the southern. R. Jonah, mentioned both by Aben Ezra and Kimchi, says that "Cesil", the word here used, is a large star, called in the Arabic language "Suel", and the stars that are joined unto it are called by its name "Cesilim"; so that, according to this, only one constellation is meant; and Aben Ezra observes, that there are some that say that Cesil is a star near to the south pole, on which, if camels look, they die; but, says he, in my opinion it is "the scorpion's heart". Jerom's Hebrew master interpreted it to him Arcturus; and it is in ( Job 9:9 ) ( 38:31 ) ( Amos 5:8 ) rendered Orion, and by the Septuagint here; which is one of the constellations, and one of the brightest; and the word being here in the plural number, the sense may be, were there ever so many Orions in the heavens, they should none of them give light. The Targum and Jarchi interpret it of the planets: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth;
as soon as it rises, when it goes forth out of its chamber, as in ( Psalms 19:5 ) either by an eclipse of it, or by dark clouds covering it: and the moon shall not cause her light to shine:
by night, which she borrows from the sun; so that it would be very uncomfortable, day and night, neither sun, moon, nor stars appearing, see ( Acts 27:20 ) by the sun, moon, and stars, may be meant king, queen, and nobles, whose destruction is here prophesied of; it being usual in prophetic language, as well as in other writers F6, to express great personages hereby.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 "Solem Asiae Brutum appellat, stellasque salubres appellat comites", Hor. Serm. 1. Satyr. 7.

Isaiah 13:10 In-Context

8 Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame.
9 See, the day of the LORD is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir.

Cross References 4

  • 1. S Job 9:7
  • 2. Isaiah 24:23; Zechariah 14:7
  • 3. S Exodus 10:22; S Isaiah 5:30; Revelation 8:12
  • 4. Ezekiel 32:7; Amos 5:20; Amos 8:9; S Matthew 24:29*; Mark 13:24*
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