Isaiah 13:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: 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.

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.

CSB: 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.

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.

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.

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.

The "day of the Lord" (Joel 1:15; Ezekiel 30:3) is coming for Babylon (Isaiah 13:6). Isaiah has been describing the Lord's impending judgment on Babylon for its sins, especially sins of "the pomp of the arrogant" and "pride of the ruthless" (Isaiah 13:11). The language Isaiah uses here echoes other descriptions of God's judgment throughout Scripture. Regarding a future event, from Isaiah's point of view, he states that stars and constellations will fail to give light. Even the sun will be dark as it rises in the sky. The moon will give no light. What is going on here? There are two possibilities.

First, it is possible Isaiah is straightforwardly predicting literal darkness: that when God brings His judgment against Babylon, it will come with supernatural shadow. Perhaps the Lord was promising to miraculously block off any light from the sun, moon, and stars. This utter darkness would add to the terror and confusion experienced by those destroyed by God for their terrible sinfulness. Of course, this would also affect the nations God had assembled for this purpose, none of whom thought they were serving the Lord of Israel (Isaiah 13:4–5).

The more likely explanation is poetic. In modern English, for instance, terrible events are often referred to as "dark days" or "dark times." Later phrases seem to carry a symbolic nature, as well (Isaiah 13:13). This reference to sun, moon, and stars was also a direct challenge to the religious beliefs of the Babylonians and other peoples of the Mesopotamian region. Many of them understood lights in the sky to be gods of various kinds. They tracked their movements in the sky. This region believed in astrology: that specific alignments of those heavenly bodies predicted and determined human fate. They used their charts to develop horoscopes to make decisions about how to lead their lives. All of this is a form of idol worship in defiance of the Maker of those objects.

Isaiah may be saying that on the day of God's judgment, the false gods of the stars, sun, and moon will be impotent. No help or guidance will come to the people of Babylon from what they had worshipped. It will quickly become obvious that they were foolish to place their trust in the objects of the heavens instead of in the Lord God of Israel.

Isaiah 13:1–22 contains Isaiah's prophecy from the Lord. This is against the dominant power of Babylon, which would arise after the defeat of the Assyrians. The Lord will assemble and consecrate an international army to attack and obliterate the powerful city-state of Babylon. The people will tremble in fear as the Lord executes His judgment out of His great wrath toward the arrogant and ruthless Babylonians. The population will be slaughtered without mercy and the land left desolate. When it's over, only wild animals will walk the streets of the once-splendid city.

Chapter 13 begins a new section in the book of Isaiah, which focuses on prophecies against other nations besides Israel. It begins by describing the Lord's destruction of the city-state of Babylon. This will come after it has become a dominating power in the world. The Lord will assemble a multi-nation army to attack the city and leave the land completely desolate. All who flee will be hunted and killed. The Medes will slaughter even pregnant women and children without mercy. When it is all over, only wild animals will occupy the once luxurious center of human achievement and sophistication.

Isaiah has been discussing the eventual rescue and restoration of Israel (Isaiah 10–12). Chapter 13 introduces an entirely new section in Isaiah's book: prophecies from the Lord against Gentile nations. First is a prediction of the utter destruction of Babylon. That nation had been the dominant power in the world. The Lord will assemble a multi-nation army from near and far to destroy the luxurious and powerful city-state on the Euphrates. This is followed by reassurances and further details of God's vengeance on Israel's other oppressors.

Isaiah is among the most important prophetic books in the entire Bible. The first segment details God's impending judgment against ancient peoples for sin and idolatry (Isaiah 1—35). The second part of Isaiah briefly explains a failed assault on Jerusalem during the rule of Hezekiah (Isaiah 36—39). The final chapters predict Israel's rescue from Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 40—48), the promised Messiah (Isaiah 49—57), and the final glory of Jerusalem and God's people (Isaiah 58—66).