Isaiah 24:1
in Isaiah 24Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, Jehovah maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
KJV
Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBehold, the Lord maketh the earth empty,.... Some, by the "earth", only understand the land of Israel or Judea, and interpret the prophecy of the captivity of the ten tribes by Shalmaneser, as Kimchi, and other Jewish writers; and others, of the destruction of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar; but some take in along with them the neighbouring nations who suffered by the same princes at the same time.
This site's exposition
the LORD lays waste the earth
on Isaiah 24:1-3
The oracles against single nations end at chapter 23, and here the horizon opens to the whole earth. No class escapes, "people and priest alike, servant and master," and the list runs on through buyer and seller. Delitzsch and Alexander both treat chapters 24 through 27 as one section.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 24 - Verses 1 and following) Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth, and make it desolate, and afflict its face, and scatter its inhabitants. And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word.
The Medieval Church1 voice
565. Behold the Lord. In this part, he threatens the destruction of the entire earth, either that which was carried out in particular kingdoms and different regions, or that which is to come in the day of judgment, according to what is said above, this …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), as if it were reduced to its first chaos, Tohu and Bohu, nothing but confusion and emptiness again ( Gen. i. 2 ), without form and void. It is true earth sometimes signifies the land, and so the same word eretz is here translated (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
), for its Creator is and will be its Judge; he has an incontestable right to pass sentence upon it and an irresistible power to execute that sentence. It is the Lord that has spoken this word, and he will do the work (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
We often see numerous families, and plentiful estates, utterly emptied and utterly spoiled, by one judgment or other, or perhaps only by a gradual and insensible decay. Sin has turned the earth upside down; the earth has become quite a different thing to man from what it was when God made it to be his habitation. Sin has also scattered abroad the inhabitants thereof.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Maketh 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 Joe 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, or as were connected with it in the desolations under Nebuchadnezzar.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Behold the Lord empties the land and lays it waste This prophecy represents retribution for Israel.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Behold, the Lord shall spoil the land and deliver it over to the enemy; and confusion shall cover the faces of the princes, because they have transgressed the law, and scattered its inhabitants.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּ֧ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בּוֹקֵ֥ק | bokek | [is] about to lay waste | H1238 → | 9 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וּבֽוֹלְקָ֑הּ | uvolkah | and [is] about to devastate it | H1110 → | |
| וְעִוָּ֣ה | veivah | and he will twist | H5753 → | |
| פָנֶ֔יהָ | faneiha | surface its | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וְהֵפִ֖יץ | vehefitz | and he will scatter | H6327 → | 67 times |
| יֹשְׁבֶֽיהָ׃ | yosheveiha | inhabitants its | H3427 → | 1079 times |
הִנֵּ֧הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בּוֹקֵ֥ק[is] about to lay waste
bokekH1238 →9 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וּבֽוֹלְקָ֑הּand [is] about to devastate it
uvolkahH1110 →
וְעִוָּ֣הand he will twist
veivahH5753 →
פָנֶ֔יהָsurface its
faneihaH6440 →2123 times
וְהֵפִ֖יץand he will scatter
vehefitzH6327 →67 times
יֹשְׁבֶֽיהָ׃inhabitants its
yosheveihaH3427 →1079 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
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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:10
Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
- Luke 23:30
At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
- Hosea 10:8
The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall…
- Isaiah 2:10
Through
Isaiah 42:15I will lay waste the mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn the rivers into dry land and drain the marshes.
it leads to
- Isaiah 50:2
Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold,…
- Isaiah 50:2
Through
Nahum 2:10She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
it leads to
- Daniel 5:6
his face grew pale and his thoughts so alarmed him that his hips gave way and his knees knocked together.
- Joel 2:6
Nations writhe in horror before them; every face turns pale.
- Psalms 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
- Daniel 5:6
Through
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.
it leads to
- Isaiah 19:14
The LORD has poured into her a spirit of confusion. Egypt has been led astray in all she does, as a drunkard staggers through his own vomit.
- Isaiah 19:14
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Joseph Addison Alexander, Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.