Isaiah 24:21
in Isaiah 24In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
KJV
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In that day - In the time of the captivity at Babylon. Shall punish - Hebrew as the Margin, ‘Shall visit upon’ (see the note at Isa 10:12). The host of the high ones - There have been various interpretations of this expression. Jerome understands it of the host of heaven, and thinks it refers to the fact that in the day of judgment God will judge not only earthly things but celestial, and especially the sun and moon and stars, as having ‘been the objects of idolatrous worship (see Deu 4:19; Dan 8:10; Dan 11:13).
This site's exposition
the LORD will punish the host of heaven
on Isaiah 24:21-23
Judgment falls on two ranks, "the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below". Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the first rank beside the princes of Daniel 10. The passage ends on a throne: "the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion".
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 21 onwards) And it will happen in that day, the Lord will visit upon the host of heaven on high, and upon the kings of the earth who are on the earth. And they will be gathered together into one assembly, into a pit, and will be shut up there in prison, and after many days they will be visited. And the moon will be ashamed, and the sun will be confounded, when the Lord of hosts shall reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and shall show forth his glory before his ancients.
The Medieval Church1 voice
578. And it shall come to pass. Here he threatens against the rulers of the people; and concerning this he sets out three things. First, he sets out their punishment: in that day, of judgment; the Lord shall visit upon the host of heaven on …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The high ones, that are on high, that are puffed up with their height and grandeur, that think themselves so high that they are out of the reach of any danger, God will visit upon them all their pride and cruelty, with which they have oppressed and injured their neighbours and subjects, and it shall now return upon their own heads.
5 The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And it shall come to pass in that day,....
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
If we apply this to the general state of mankind, it imports a revolution of conditions; those that were high are punished, those that were punished are relieved, after many days, that none in this world may be secure though their condition be ever so prosperous, nor any despair though their condition be ever so deplorable. Glory to God in all this,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
60:19, simultaneously with the corrupt polity of men); or rather, "the invisible rulers of the darkness of this world," as the antithesis to "kings of the earth" shows. Angels, moreover, preside, as it were, over kingdoms of the world (Da 10:13, 20, 21).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
On high - upon the earth - That is, the ecclesiastical and civil polity of the Jews, which shall be destroyed. The nation shall continue in a state of depression and dereliction for a long time. The image seems to be taken from the practice of the great monarchs of that time; who, when they had thrown their wretched captives into a dungeon, never gave themselves the trouble of inquiring about them; but let them lie a long time in that miserable condition, wholly destitute of relief, and disregarded. God shall at length revisit and restore his people in the last age: and then the kingdom of God shall be established in such perfection, as wholly to obscure and eclipse the glory of the temporary, typical, preparative kingdom now subsisting.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָיָה֙ | vehayah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | in the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִפְקֹ֧ד | yifkod | he will visit [judgment] | H6485 → | 303 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| צְבָ֥א | tzeva' | [the] host of | H6635 → | 485 times |
| הַמָּר֖וֹם | hamarom | the height | H4791 → | 54 times |
| בַּמָּר֑וֹם | bamarom | in the height[s] | H4791 → | 54 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מַלְכֵ֥י | malkhei | [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֲדָמָ֖ה | haadamah | the earth | H127 → | 225 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָאֲדָמָֽה׃ | haadamah | the earth | H127 → | 225 times |
וְהָיָה֙and it will be
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםin the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
יִפְקֹ֧דhe will visit [judgment]
yifkodH6485 →303 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
צְבָ֥א[the] host of
tzeva'H6635 →485 times
הַמָּר֖וֹםthe height
hamaromH4791 →54 times
בַּמָּר֑וֹםin the height[s]
bamaromH4791 →54 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
מַלְכֵ֥י[the] kings of
malkheiH4428 →2525 times
הָאֲדָמָ֖הthe earth
haadamahH127 →225 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָאֲדָמָֽה׃the earth
haadamahH127 →225 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 76:12He breaks the spirits of princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 3:6
“I have cut off the nations; their corner towers are destroyed. I have made their streets deserted with no one to pass through. Their cities are laid waste, with no man, no inhabitant.
- Psalms 68:12
“Kings and their armies flee in haste; she who waits at home divides the plunder.
- Isaiah 13:6–8
Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- 2 Chronicles 32:21
and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in…
- Psalms 2:5
Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury:
- Zephaniah 3:6
Through
Isaiah 10:12So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 50:18
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.
- Isaiah 28:21–22
For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim. He will rouse Himself as in the Valley of Gibeon, to do His work, His strange work, and to perform His task, His disturbing…
- Isaiah 14:24–27
The LORD of Hosts has sworn: “Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; as I have purposed, so will it stand.
- Jeremiah 50:18
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.