Isaiah 24:15
in Isaiah 24Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wherefore glorify ye Jehovah in the east, even the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, in the isles of the sea.
KJV
Wherefore glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
13 notes on this verseBy "sea" he means the multitude of nations, and by "coastlands," perhaps, he means cities. All their inhabitants will "raise their voices" when the divine wrath comes upon them. But the majesty of Christ will somehow be in the sea, that is, in all those nations, and they will realize that it is through divine Providence that they are destroyed and annihilated. They are destroyed because their impiety provoked the Almighty God; hence they will reject their gods who are unable to help them. That is how the majesty of the Lord is celebrated.
This site's exposition
They raise their voices
on Isaiah 24:14-16
The gleaned remnant sings, and praise goes up from the west and from "the islands of the sea". From the ends of the earth the prophet hears "Glory to the Righteous One". Then his own voice cuts across the song, "I am wasting away", for "The treacherous betray".
This site's exposition
Therefore glorify the LORD in the east
The Hebrew word here means lights, and the King James read it as fires. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown render it the regions of the morning light, the east, set against the islands of the sea in the west. Praise rises at both ends.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
"And God remembered Babylon the great, who came into his sight." This designates the confused multitude of all the lost. "That he might give it to drink from the wine of his wrath." The retribution of due punishment to be returned to the wicked is …
(Verses 13-15) Just as when a few olives, which remain, are shaken from the olive tree, and the grape harvest is finished, these will lift up their voice and praise when the Lord is glorified, they will neigh from the sea: therefore, glorify the Lord in your teachings, in the islands of the sea proclaim the name of the Lord God of Israel.
"Therefore, the glory of the Lord is in the islands of the sea." That pertains obviously to the church, which is located in the midst of the godless nations as if an island in the sea. It is in that island that the glory of the Lord shines.
The Medieval Church1 voice
574. Second, he introduces praise in the present: therefore. And first, he places the precept, glorify the Lord in instruction, that is, in teaching others; another translation has: in praises: glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far exceed …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Wherefore glorify ye the Lord, in the fires,.... These are the words of the remnant, now triumphing and singing, calling upon others also to glorify the Lord in the fires of affliction and tribulation, in which they had lately been, and had themselves done: or, "in the valleys" (u); in low estates and conditions: or, "in holes" (w); dens and clefts of rocks, where they fled from their persecuting enemies; but neither of these versions suit the state of the true church, as it will be at this time.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
); they encourage their fellow-sufferers to do likewise. Those who are in the fires, in the furnace of affliction, those fires by which the inhabitants of the earth are burned,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
In distress - When you are in the furnace of affliction. In the isles - In remote countries, beyond the sea, which in scripture are commonly called isles.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The fires only loose the carnal bonds off the soul, without injuring a hair, as in the case of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. LOWTH reads, in the islands (Eze 26:18). Rather translate for "fires," "in the regions of morning light," that is, the east, in antithesis to the "isles of the sea," that is, the west [MAURER].
In the isles of the sea “In the distant coasts of the sea” - For בארים beurim, in the valleys, I suppose we ought to read באיים beiyim, in the isles, which is in a great degree justified by the repetition of the word in the next member of the sentence, with the addition of הים haiyam, the sea, to vary the phrase, exactly in the manner of the prophet. איים iyim is a word chiefly applied to any distant countries, especially those lying on the Mediterranean Sea. Others conjecture ביארים biorim, בהרים beharim, באמים beummim, בעמים beammim, בחורים bechorim, באורים beurim, a באר bar, illustrate - Le Clerc. Twenty-three MSS. of Kennicott’s, many of De Rossi’s, and some of my own, read באורים beorim, in the valleys. The Septuagint do not acknowledge the reading of the text, expressing here only the word איים iyim, εν ταις νησοις, in the islands, and that not repeated. But MSS. Pachom. and 1. D. 2 supply in this place the defect in the other copies of the Septuagint thus, Δια τουτο ἡ δοξα Κυριου εσται εν ταις νησοις της θαλασσης· εν ταις νησοις το ονομα του Κυριου Θεου Ισραηλ ενδοξον εσται· “Therefore the glory of the Lord shall be in the isles of the sea: in the islands shall the name of the Lord God of Israel be glorified.” Kimchi says, that by באורים beurim, in the valleys is meant the cities, because they were generally built in valleys. The Vulgate has in doctrinis, and so my old MS., in techingis. Coverdale translates, Praise the name of the Lord God of Israel in the valleys and in the floodis. It should not be revered in the fires; none of the ancient Versions understood it thus. According to which the Septuagint had in their Hebrew copy באיים beiyim, repeated afterwards, not בארים beurim.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Wherefore glorify ye the Lord - The prophet, in this verse, calls upon the people to join in the praise of Yahweh wherever they are scattered. In the previous verse he describes the scattered few who were left in the land, or who had escaped to the adjacent islands in the sea, as celebrating the praises of God where they were. In this verse he calls on all to join in this wherever they were scattered.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
They shall raise their voice For those few survivors shall come the good that I prophesied above.
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
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | there- | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֵּ֥ן | ken | -fore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| בָּאֻרִ֖ים | baurim | in the east | H217 → | 6 times |
| כַּבְּד֣וּ | kabedu | glorify | H3513 → | 113 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּאִיֵּ֣י | beiyei | in [the] islands of | H339 → | 36 times |
| הַיָּ֔ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| שֵׁ֥ם | shem | [the] name of | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ ס | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
עַל־there-
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֵּ֥ן-fore
kenH3651 →771 times
בָּאֻרִ֖יםin the east
baurimH217 →6 times
כַּבְּד֣וּglorify
kabeduH3513 →113 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּאִיֵּ֣יin [the] islands of
beiyeiH339 →36 times
הַיָּ֔םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
שֵׁ֥ם[the] name of
shemH8034 →864 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 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 49:1Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Galatians 1:15
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
- Isaiah 44:2
This is the word of the LORD, your Maker, who formed you from the womb and who will help you: “Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
- Isaiah 49:5
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight…
- Luke 1:31
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
- Jeremiah 1:5
Through
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,…
it leads to
- Isaiah 55:5
Surely you will summon a nation you do not know, and nations who do not know you will run to you. For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, has bestowed glory…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 55:5
Through
Isaiah 42:10Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.
it leads to
- Isaiah 42:4
He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 42:4
Through
Malachi 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:6
so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 45:6
About Isaiah

This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 2:5.24; Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 7:19; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Primasius of Hadrumetum, COMMENTARY ON THE APOCALYPSE 4:16 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
