Isaiah 24:3
in Isaiah 24The earth will be utterly laid waste and thoroughly plundered. For the LORD has spoken this word.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The earth shall be utterly emptied, and utterly laid waste; for Jehovah hath spoken this word.
KJV
The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.
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This verse in Isaiah 24
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The land - Hebrew, ‘The earth,’ as in Isa 24:1. It is here rendered correctly ‘the land,’ as it should have been there - meaning the land of Canaan. And spoiled - Its valuable possessions shall become the prey of the invading foe. This is an emphatic repetition of the declaration in Isa 24:1, to show the absolute certainty of that which was threatened.
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.
This site's exposition
The earth will be utterly laid waste
The earth is laid waste and plundered, and Barnes takes the word earth here as the land of Canaan, stripped by an invading army. Aquinas divides the pair. The ground is wasted and the goods are carried off.
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
As to the diversity of punishments: with desolation, setting out the loss as to immovable things: the earth shall be laid waste; as to movable things: it shall be spoiled: with desolation is all the land made desolate (Jer 12:11).
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִבּ֧וֹק׀ | hibok | certainly <to be laid waste> | H1238 → | 9 times |
| תִּבּ֛וֹק | tibok | it will be laid waste | H1238 → | 9 times |
| הָאָ֖רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְהִבּ֣וֹז׀ | vehiboz | and certainly <to be plundered> | H962 → | 43 times |
| תִּבּ֑וֹז | tiboz | it will be plundered | H962 → | 43 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| דִּבֶּ֖ר | diber | he has spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַדָּבָ֥ר | hadavar | the word | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
הִבּ֧וֹק׀certainly <to be laid waste>
hibokH1238 →9 times
תִּבּ֛וֹקit will be laid waste
tibokH1238 →9 times
הָאָ֖רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְהִבּ֣וֹז׀and certainly <to be plundered>
vehibozH962 →43 times
תִּבּ֑וֹזit will be plundered
tibozH962 →43 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
דִּבֶּ֖רhe has spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַדָּבָ֥רthe word
hadavarH1697 →1440 times
הַזֶּֽה׃<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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
Micah 4:4And each man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree, with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the LORD of Hosts has spoken.
it leads to
- Zechariah 3:10
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”
- Isaiah 1:20
But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 4:25
Throughout the days of Solomon, Judah and Israel dwelt securely from Dan to Beersheba, each man under his own vine and his own fig tree.
- Ezekiel 39:26
They will forget their disgrace and all the treachery they committed against Me, when they dwell securely in their land, with no one to frighten them.
- Zechariah 3:10
Through
Isaiah 24:1Behold, the LORD lays waste the earth and leaves it in ruins. He will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants—
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:19
Men 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.
- Nahum 2:10
She is emptied! Yes, she is desolate and laid waste! Hearts melt, knees knock, bodies tremble, and every face grows pale!
- Isaiah 42:15
I 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.
- Isaiah 2:19
Through
Deuteronomy 29:23All its soil will be a burning waste of sulfur and salt, unsown and unproductive, with no plant growing on it, just like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 17:6
He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
- Jeremiah 17:6
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 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
