All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
Parallel translations
- WEB All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.
- KJV And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
- BSB All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.
- NASB And all the heavenly lights will wear away, And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All its lights will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.
- NLT The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree.
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
Even the heavens will dissolve and roll up like a scroll when God brings final judgment.
Overview
Isaiah pictures cosmic upheaval, with the sky's host wasting away and the heavens rolled up like a scroll. This apocalyptic imagery signals that God's judgment reaches beyond nations to the entire created order. The New Testament draws on these words to describe the day of the Lord and Christ's return (Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:13-14).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Rev 6:13–14The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.
- 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;
- Joel 3:15The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
- 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.
- Mark 13:24–25But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,
- Ps 102:25–26Of old, you laid the foundation of the earth. The heavens are the work of your hands.
- 2 Pet 3:7–12But the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- Matt 24:35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
- Jer 4:23–24I saw the earth, and, behold, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
- Joel 2:30–31I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood, fire, and pillars of smoke.
- 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.
- Isa 13:10For 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.
- Acts 2:19–20I will show wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and billows of smoke.
- Rev 20:11I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.
- Isa 13:13Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place in Yahweh of Armies’ wrath, and in the day of his fierce anger.
- Isa 14:12How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, who laid the nations low!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 34:4 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.