Isaiah 24:1

Isaiah 24:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
• New International Version (NIV)See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants—
• English Standard Version (ESV)Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Behold, the Lord makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants.

Context of Isaiah 24:1

Behold, the Lord lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants. 2And the people will be like the priest, the servant like his master, the maid like her mistress, the buyer like the seller, the lender like the borrower, the creditor like the debtor. 3The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word.

Isaiah 24:1 word by word

הִנֵּ֧ה יְהוָ֛ה בּוֹקֵ֥ק הָאָ֖רֶץ וּבֽוֹלְקָ֑הּ וְעִוָּ֣ה פָנֶ֔יהָ וְהֵפִ֖יץ יֹשְׁבֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• Beholdהִנֵּהhinnêh · beholdH2009
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• laysבָּקַקbâqaq · to emptyH1238
• the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• wasteבָּקַקbâqaq · to emptyH1238
• devastatesבָּלַקbâlaq · to wasteH1110
• it, distortsעָוָה‛âvâh · to twistH5753
• its surfaceפָּנֶהpânîym · face: surfaceH6440
• and scattersפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
• its inhabitantsיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Isaiah 24:1

• Isaiah 1:7Your land is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire, Your fields--strangers are devouring them in your presence; It is desolation, as overthrown by strangers.
• Isaiah 5:6I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered, “Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant, Houses are without people And the land is utterly desolate,
• Isaiah 7:17The Lord will bring on you, on your people, and on your father’s house such days as have never come since the day that Ephraim separated from Judah, the king of Assyria.”
• Isaiah 27:10For the fortified city is isolated, A homestead forlorn and forsaken like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.
• Isaiah 32:13For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up; Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the jubilant city.
• Isaiah 42:15I will lay waste the mountains and hills And wither all their vegetation; I will make the rivers into coastlands And dry up the ponds.
• Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins Without inhabitant.
• Ezekiel 5:14Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which surround you, in the sight of all who pass by.
• Ezekiel 6:6In all your dwellings, cities will become waste and the high places will be desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out.
• Ezekiel 12:20The inhabited cities will be laid waste and the land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am the Lord.”’”
• Ezekiel 24:11Then set it empty on its coals So that it may be hot And its bronze may glow And its filthiness may be melted in it, Its rust consumed.
• Ezekiel 35:14Thus says the Lord God, “As all the earth rejoices, I will make you a desolation.
• Nahum 2:10She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and waste! Hearts are melting and knees knocking! Also anguish is in the whole body And all their faces are grown pale!
• Luke 21:24and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
• Isaiah 29:16You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, That what is made would say to its maker, “He did not make me”; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Commentaries on Isaiah 24:1

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Maketh the earth empty - That is, will depopulate it, or take away its inhabitants, and its wealth. The word earth‘ here (ארץ 'ārets ) is used evidently not to denote the whole world, but the land to which the prophet particularly refers - the land of Judea. It should have been translated the land (see Joel 1:2). It is possible, however, that the word here may be intended to include so much of the nations that surrounded Palestine as were allied with it…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The desolation of the land. (Is. 24:1-12) A few shall be preserved. (Is. 24:13-15) God's kingdom advanced by his judgments. (Is. 24:16-23) Verses 1-12 All whose treasures and happiness are laid up on earth, will soon be brought to want and misery. It is good to apply to ourselves what the Scripture says of the vanity and vexation of spirit which attend all things here below. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth is become quite different to man…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins: There is a play here on the Hebrew words baqaq (lays waste) and balaq (leaves it in ruins). The devastation will start with Judah and spread to the entire world (see 1 Peter 4:17). All the earth will face destruction, including its people and political systems.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-23The four chapters (the twenty-fourth through the twenty-seventh) form one continuous poetical prophecy: descriptive of the dispersion and successive calamities of the Jews (Is 24:1-12); the preaching of the Gospel by the first Hebrew converts throughout the world (Is 24:13-16); the judgments on the adversaries of the Church and its final triumph (Is 24:16-23); thanksgiving for the overthrow of the apostate faction (Is 25:1-12), and establishment of the…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 24:1

• Afflictions and Adversities
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Lending

In the dictionaries

• Dark
• Fear
• Lift
• Sennacherib
• Shake
• Isaiah
• Salvation
• Fan

Commentaries on Isaiah 24

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings