The Meaning of Isaiah 34:4 Explained

Isaiah 34:4

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.

YLT: And consumed have been all the host of the heavens, And rolled together as a book have been the heavens, And all their hosts do fade, As the fading of a leaf of a vine, And as the fading one of a fig-tree.

Darby: And all the host of the heavens shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as a leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as the withered fruit from the fig-tree.

ASV: And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig-tree.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Isaiah 34:4 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Evidently the whole universe will be involved in this judgment. The sins of nations, and the necessary divine reaction, affect all creation. [1] The Lord will roll up the heavens like a scroll that He has finished reading. The sun, moon, and stars will wither and fall like grapes or figs (cf. Matthew 24:29; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 6:13-14). This implies also the destruction of the pantheon of gods that these heavenly bodies represented in the ancient world.

Context Summary

Is 34:1-17 - Reaping The Whirlwind
This chapter is one prolonged description of the judgments which were to befall the nations at the hand of Assyria and Babylon. The imagery employed is borrowed from the destruction of the cities of the plain. Streams of pitch; dust of brimstone; the ever-ascending smoke of a furnace; the scream of the eagle, hawk, and owl; the invasion of palaces by the thistle; the howl of the wolf; the call of the jackal; the arrow-snakes nest; the kite with its mate-such are the illustrations employed to depict the scorching desolations which were impending. Edom is especially mentioned as suffering these awful desolations because of her long-standing hatred of Israel. See Psalms 137:7; Ezekiel 36:5; Lamentations 4:21-22. These terrible and graphic predictions have been literally fulfilled, but they foreshadow those further and eternal disasters which must overtake willful and designed rejection of the divine purposes and laws. Are not all nations at this hour standing before the Son of man and being judged? See Matthew 25:31. [source]

Chapter Summary: Is 34

1  The judgments wherewith God revenges his church
11  The desolation of her enemies
16  The certainty of the prophecy

What do the individual words in Isaiah 34:4 mean?

And shall be dissolved all the host of heaven and shall be rolled up like a scroll the heavens and all their host shall fall down as falls the leaf from the vine and as [fruit] falling from a fig tree
וְנָמַ֙קּוּ֙ כָּל־ צְבָ֣א הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וְנָגֹ֥לּוּ כַסֵּ֖פֶר הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְכָל־ צְבָאָ֣ם יִבּ֔וֹל כִּנְבֹ֤ל עָלֶה֙ מִגֶּ֔פֶן וּכְנֹבֶ֖לֶת מִתְּאֵנָֽה

וְנָמַ֙קּוּ֙  And  shall  be  dissolved 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָקַק  
Sense: to decay, pine away, rot, fester.
צְבָ֣א  the  host 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם  of  heaven 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וְנָגֹ֥לּוּ  and  shall  be  rolled  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: גָּלַל 
Sense: to roll, roll away, roll down, roll together.
כַסֵּ֖פֶר  like  a  scroll 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: סֵפֶר 
Sense: book.
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם  the  heavens 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וְכָל־  and  all 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
צְבָאָ֣ם  their  host 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
יִבּ֔וֹל  shall  fall  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נָבֵל 
Sense: to be senseless, be foolish.
כִּנְבֹ֤ל  as  falls 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: נָבֵל 
Sense: to be senseless, be foolish.
עָלֶה֙  the  leaf 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָלֶה  
Sense: leaf, leafage.
מִגֶּ֔פֶן  from  the  vine 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common singular
Root: גֶּפֶן  
Sense: vine, vine tree.
וּכְנֹבֶ֖לֶת  and  as  [fruit]  falling 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: נָבֵל 
Sense: to be senseless, be foolish.
מִתְּאֵנָֽה  from  a  fig  tree 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, feminine singular
Root: תְּאֵנָה  
Sense: fig, fig tree.