For the stars of the sky and its constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened in its going out, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB For 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.
- NKJV For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
- NASB For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not flash their light; The sun will be dark when it rises And the moon will not shed its light.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The sun, moon, and stars will withhold their light in the day of judgment. Cosmic darkness signals God's overturning of the proud order.
Overview
Darkened heavenly lights are a standard biblical image for the day of the Lord and the collapse of a world under judgment. Jesus uses this very language to describe cataclysms accompanying his coming (Matt. 24:29). Babylon's fall thus becomes a window onto the final, cosmic day of the Lord.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Joel 2:31The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Matt 24:29But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken;
- Mark 13:24But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,
- Ezek 32:7–8When I shall extinguish you, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light.
- Joel 3:15The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
- Rev 8:12The fourth angel sounded, and one third of the sun was struck, and one third of the moon, and one third of the stars; so that one third of them would be darkened, and the day wouldn’t shine for one third of it, and the night in the same way.
- Luke 21:25There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;
- Isa 24:23Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Yahweh of Armies will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders will be glory.
- Rev 6:12–14I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.
- Joel 2:10The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
- Isa 5:30They will roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. If one looks to the land behold, darkness and distress. The light is darkened in its clouds.
- Zeph 1:15–16That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
- Isa 24:21It shall happen in that day that Yahweh will punish the army of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth.
- Amos 8:9–10It will happen in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 13:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.