Judgment now widens from single nations to the whole earth: Jehovah empties it, wastes it, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants, leveling every social pair, priest with people, master with servant, buyer with seller, creditor with debtor. The cause is stated: the earth is polluted because its dwellers "have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant," so the curse devours and few men are left. Wine, tabret, and harp fall silent; the waste city is shut up; survivors are as gleanings after an olive-tree is shaken, though some lift songs of "Glory to the righteous" from the sea and the isles. Fear, pit, and snare chase the fleeing; the windows on high open and the earth staggers like a drunkard, falling not to rise. In that day Jehovah punishes "the host of the high ones on high" and the kings of the earth, imprisoning them in the pit to be visited after many days, while sun and moon are shamed because Jehovah of hosts reigns in mount Zion and Jerusalem.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Isaiah — Isaiah overview

A. 1–13 The Earth Emptied and Turned Upside Down
B. 14–20 Songs from the Sea, but Woe to the Treacherous
C. 21–23 Kings Shut in Prison, the Moon Confounded

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Isaiah 242 verses
- Isaiah 24:1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
- Isaiah 24:20The earth staggers like a drunkard and sways like a shack. Earth’s rebellion weighs it down, and it falls, never to rise again.
- Read Isaiah 24 →
Isaiah 22 verses
- Isaiah 2:11The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.
- Isaiah 2:19Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Read Isaiah 2 →
Hosea 42 verses
- Hosea 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Hosea 4:9And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.
- Read Hosea 4 →
Isaiah 332 verses
- Isaiah 33:1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
- Isaiah 33:9The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
- Read Isaiah 33 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Isaiah 162 verses
- Isaiah 16:8For the fields of Heshbon have withered, along with the grapevines of Sibmah. The rulers of the nations have trampled its choicest vines, which had reached as far as Jazer and spread toward the desert. Their shoots had spread out and passed over the sea.
- Isaiah 16:10Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.
- Read Isaiah 16 →
Revelation 182 verses
- Revelation 18:2And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast.
- Revelation 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.
- Read Revelation 18 →
Lamentations 12 verses
- Lamentations 1:1How lonely lies the city, once so full of people! She who was great among the nations has become a widow. The princess of the provinces has become a slave.
- Lamentations 1:4The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.
- Read Lamentations 1 →
Isaiah 602 verses
- Isaiah 60:9Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.
- Isaiah 60:19No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
- Read Isaiah 60 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.