Isaiah 24:23
in Isaiah 24The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory.
KJV
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHe [Isaiah] was pricked by the thorn of sin; you are decked with the flowers of virtue. "The moon shall be ashamed, and the sun confounded, when the Lord shall punish the host of heaven on high." This is explained by another passage. "Even the stars are unclean in his sight";21 and again, "He charges his angels with folly." The moon is ashamed, the sun is confounded, and the sky covered with sackcloth. Shall we fearlessly and joyously, as though we were free from all sin, face the majesty of the Judge?
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".
This site's exposition
The moon will be confounded
Henry notes that the eastern nations worshiped the sun and the moon, and both are put to shame when the LORD reigns. Barnes reads the lights as the rulers of the earth. Revelation 21:23 has a city lit by the glory of God.
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 Church2 voices
The stars on the day of judgment will be seen obscurely, not because of a gradual waning of their own light but due to the overwhelming brilliance of the true light, who is the supreme Judge coming in majesty, and the light of the Father …
580. Third, the glory of him who punishes, and first, of the judge: and the moon shall blush, that is, its splendor shall be thought nothing in comparison to the splendor of the body of Christ: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Lord - The Messiah, who, tho' man, yet is also God, and the Lord of hosts. Shall reign - Shall come in the flesh, and set up his kingdom, first in Jerusalem, and afterward in all other nations. Before - Before his ministers, who are in some sort the courtiers of the King of Glory.
The eastern nations worshipped the sun and moon; but, when God shall appear so gloriously for his people against his and their enemies, all these pretended deities shall be ashamed that ever they received the homage of their deluded worshippers. The glory of the Creator infinitely outshines the glory of the brightest creatures.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Then the moon shall be confounded - The heavenly bodies are often employed in the sacred writings to denote the princes and kings of the earth. These expressions are not to be pressed ad unguem as if the sun denoted one thing and the moon another; but they are general poetic expressions designed to represent rulers, princes, and magistrates of all kinds (compare Eze 32:7; Joe 2:30-31). Shall be confounded - Shall be covered with shame. That is, shall appear to shine with diminished beauty, as if it were ashamed in the superior glory that would shine around it.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Still future: of which Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem amidst hosannas was a pledge. his ancients--the elders of His people; or in general, His ancient people, the Jews. After the overthrow of the world kingdoms.
Before his ancients gloriously - In the sigt of their olde men he schal ben glorified. Old MS. Bible. “The figurative language of the prophets is taken from the analogy between the world natural and an empire or kingdom considered as a world politic. Accordingly the whole world natural, consisting of heaven and earth, signifies the whole world politic, consisting of thrones and people; or so much of it as is considered in prophecy: and the things in that world signify the analogous things in this. For the heavens and the things thereto signify thrones and dignities, and those who enjoy them; and the earth with the things thereon, the inferior people; and the lowest parts of the earth, called hades or hell, the lowest or most miserable part of them. Great earthquakes, and the shaking of heaven and earth, are put for the shaking of kingdoms, so as to distract and overthrow them; the creating a new heaven and earth, and the passing away of an old one, or the beginning and end of a world, for the rise and ruin of a body politic signified thereby. The sun, for the whole species and race of kings, in the kingdoms of the world politic; the moon, for the body of the common people, considered as the king’s wife; the stars, for subordinate princes and great men; or for bishops and rulers of the people of God, when the sun is Christ: setting of the sun, moon, and stars. darkening the sun, Turning the moon into blood and falling of the stars, for the ceasing of a kingdom.” Sir 1. Newton’s Observations on the Prophecies, Part I., chap. 2. These observations are of great consequence and use, in explaining the phraseology of the prophets.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְחָֽפְרָה֙ | vechaferah | and it will be abashed | H2659 → | 17 times |
| הַלְּבָנָ֔ה | halevanah | the moon | H3842 → | |
| וּבוֹשָׁ֖ה | uvoshah | and it will be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| הַֽחַמָּ֑ה | hachamah | the sun | H2535 → | 6 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָלַ֞ךְ | malakh | he will reign | H4427 → | 348 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָא֗וֹת | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| בְּהַ֤ר | behar | on [the] mountain of | H2022 → | 546 times |
| צִיּוֹן֙ | tziyon | Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| וּבִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם | uvirushalim | and in Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| וְנֶ֥גֶד | veneged | and before | H5048 → | 151 times |
| זְקֵנָ֖יו | zekenav | elders his | H2205 → | 178 times |
| כָּבֽוֹד׃ פ | kavod | glory | H3519 → | 200 times |
וְחָֽפְרָה֙and it will be abashed
vechaferahH2659 →17 times
הַלְּבָנָ֔הthe moon
halevanahH3842 →
וּבוֹשָׁ֖הand it will be ashamed
uvoshahH954 →127 times
הַֽחַמָּ֑הthe sun
hachamahH2535 →6 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מָלַ֞ךְhe will reign
malakhH4427 →348 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָא֗וֹתof hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
בְּהַ֤רon [the] mountain of
beharH2022 →546 times
צִיּוֹן֙Zion
tziyonH6726 →154 times
וּבִיר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔םand in Jerusalem
uvirushalimH3389 →643 times
וְנֶ֥גֶדand before
venegedH5048 →151 times
זְקֵנָ֖יוelders his
zekenavH2205 →178 times
כָּבֽוֹד׃ פglory
kavodH3519 →200 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
Revelation 21:23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
it leads to
- Isaiah 60:19–20
No 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…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 22:5
There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 1:9
The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
- Isaiah 60:19–20
Through
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…
it leads to
- Revelation 21:23
And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Zechariah 2:5
For I will be a wall of fire around it, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory within it.’”
- Revelation 21:23
Through
Revelation 22:5There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:18
But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’
- Daniel 7:18
Through
Hebrews 12:22Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
it leads to
- Philippians 3:20
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
- Galatians 4:26
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
- Philippians 3:20
About Isaiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PlaceJerusalemZionThe eastern ridge David took from the Jebusites and made his stronghold, the name the Psalms and the prophets give the city the LO…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on 11 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); Bede, On the Gospel of Mark 4:13.24; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against the Pelagians 2.24; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.