From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs. Glory to the righteous! But I said, “I pine away! I pine away! woe is me!” The treacherous have dealt treacherously. Yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.
Parallel Translations
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From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs. Glory to the righteous! But I said, “I pine away! I pine away! woe is me!” The treacherous have dealt treacherously. Yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously.
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From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
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From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: 'Glory to the righteous.' But I say: I waste away, I waste away, woe is me! The treacherous deal treacherously; yea, the treacherous deal very treacherously.
Cross-references (34)
Passages linked to Isaiah 24:16 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Isaiah 21:2 A grievous vision is declared to me. The treacherous man deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; attack! I have stopped all of Media’s sighing.
- Isaiah 33:1 Woe to you who destroy, but you weren’t destroyed, and who betray, but nobody betrayed you! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed; and when you have finished betrayal, you will be betrayed.
- Jeremiah 3:20 “Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel,” says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me,” says Yahweh.
- Exodus 15:11 Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Psalms 2:8 Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
- Psalms 22:27-31 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you. For the kingdom is Yahweh’s. He is the ruler over the nations. All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him, even he who can’t keep his soul alive. Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born, for he has done it.
- Psalms 58:10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
- Psalms 67:7 God will bless us. All the ends of the earth shall fear him.
- Psalms 72:8-11 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.
- Psalms 98:3 He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- Psalms 106:15 He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
- Psalms 107:1-43 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever. Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary, And gathered out of the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way. They found no city to live in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them. Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses, he led them also by a straight way, that they might go to a city to live in. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul. He fills the hungry soul with good. Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and iron, because they rebelled against the words of God, and condemned the counsel of the Most High. Therefore he brought down their heart with labor. They fell down, and there was no one to help. Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke away their chains. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! For he has broken the gates of bronze, and cut through bars of iron. Fools are afflicted because of their disobedience, and because of their iniquities. Their soul abhors all kinds of food. They draw near to the gates of death. Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, he saves them out of their distresses. He sends his word, and heals them, and delivers them from their graves. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! Let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his deeds with singing. Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business in great waters; These see Yahweh’s deeds, and his wonders in the deep. For he commands, and raises the stormy wind, which lifts up its waves. They mount up to the sky; they go down again to the depths. Their soul melts away because of trouble. They reel back and forth, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. Then they cry to Yahweh in their trouble, and he brings them out of their distress. He makes the storm a calm, so that its waves are still. Then they are glad because it is calm, so he brings them to their desired haven. Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds for the children of men! Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people, and praise him in the seat of the elders. He turns rivers into a desert, water springs into a thirsty ground, and a fruitful land into a salt waste, for the wickedness of those who dwell in it. He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. There he makes the hungry live, that they may prepare a city to live in, sow fields, plant vineyards, and reap the fruits of increase. He blesses them also, so that they are multiplied greatly. He doesn’t allow their livestock to decrease. Again, they are diminished and bowed down through oppression, trouble, and sorrow. He pours contempt on princes, and causes them to wander in a trackless waste. Yet he lifts the needy out of their affliction, and increases their families like a flock. The upright will see it, and be glad. All the wicked will shut their mouths. Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things. They will consider the loving kindnesses of Yahweh.
- Isaiah 10:16 Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, will send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory a burning will be kindled like the burning of fire.
- Isaiah 17:4 “It will happen in that day that the glory of Jacob will be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh will become lean.
- Isaiah 26:15 You have increased the nation, O Yahweh. You have increased the nation! You are glorified! You have enlarged all the borders of the land.
- Isaiah 28:5 In that day, Yahweh of Armies will become a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the residue of his people,
- Isaiah 45:22-25 “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by myself. The word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and will not be revoked, that to me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. They will say of me, ‘There is righteousness and strength only in Yahweh.’ ” Even to him will men come. All those who raged against him will be disappointed. All the offspring of Israel will be justified in Yahweh, and will rejoice!
- Isaiah 48:8 Yes, you didn’t hear. Yes, you didn’t know. Yes, from of old your ear was not opened, for I knew that you dealt very treacherously, and were called a transgressor from the womb.
- Isaiah 52:10 Yahweh has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
- Isaiah 60:21 Then your people will all be righteous. They will inherit the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.
- Isaiah 66:19-20 “I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to far-away islands, who have not heard my fame, nor have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into Yahweh’s house.
- Jeremiah 12:6 For even your brothers, and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you! Even they have cried aloud after you! Don’t believe them, though they speak beautiful words to you.
- Lamentations 1:2 She weeps bitterly in the night. Her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers she has no one to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously with her. They have become her enemies.
- Hosea 5:7 They are unfaithful to Yahweh; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their fields.
- Hosea 6:7 But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant. They were unfaithful to me, there.
- Micah 5:4 He shall stand, and shall shepherd in the strength of Yahweh, in the majesty of the name of Yahweh his God: and they will live, for then he will be great to the ends of the earth.
- Habakkuk 1:3 Why do you show me iniquity, and look at perversity? For destruction and violence are before me. There is strife, and contention rises up.
- Mark 13:27 Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.
- Acts 13:47 For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ ”
- Revelation 15:3 They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations.
- Revelation 16:5-7 I heard the angel of the waters saying, “You are righteous, who are and who were, O Holy One, because you have judged these things. For they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve this.” I heard the altar saying, “Yes, Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your judgments.”
- Revelation 19:1-6 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!” A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!” I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!
- Jeremiah 12:1 You are righteous, Yahweh, when I contend with you; yet I would like to reason the cause with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are they all at ease who deal very treacherously?
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Meaning, to God, who will publish his Gospel through…
Meaning, to God, who will publish his Gospel through all the world.
I am consumed with care, considering the affliction of the Church, both by foreign enemies and domestic. Some read, my secret, my secret: that is, it was revealed to the Prophet, that the good should be preserved, and the wicked destroyed.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 24:16 From the uttermost part of the earth…
Isa 24:16 From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, [even] glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.
Ver. 16. From the uttermost part of the land have we heard songs.] Or, Psalms, aliquid Davidicam. The martyrs sang in the fire. Luther in deep distress called for the 46th Psalm to be sung in contemptum diaboli, in despite of the devil.
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Even glory to the righteous.] To Jesus the Just One. {1Jn 2:2}
But I said, My leanness, my leanness.] The prophet’s flesh was wasted and consumed with care and grief {a} for his graceless countrymen. See the like in David {Psa 119:158} and Paul. {Rom 9:1-2}
Woe unto me.] Or, Alas for me.
The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously.] They have crucified the Lord of glory upon a desperate and deep malice, out of most notorious contumacy and ingratitude. This was with most treacherous treachery to deal treacherously; this was to "do evil as they could."
{a} Merore ac macie conficior.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain From the uttermost part of the earth, from all…
From the uttermost part of the earth, from all the parts of the earth or land in which the Jews are or shall be,
have we heard songs, songs of joy and praise.
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Even glory to the righteous; or, glory be
to the righteous; which may seem to be the matter of the song. By the righteous may be understood either,
1. The generation of righteous and holy men, who formerly were despised, but now upon this eminent deliverance shall be highly honoured; or,
2. The Lord, whom they were exhorted to glorify in the foregoing verse, and who may well be called the righteous one, as he is frequently styled the Holy One, as Hos 11:9; Hab 3:3, &c.; or,
3. The Messiah, to whom this title of just or righteous is frequently given, as Isa 53:11; Jer 23:5; Zec 9:9, &c. And the believing Jews call him righteous emphatically, partly to intimate that he is the author and procurer of all true righteousness, and partly in opposition to their unbelieving brethren, who rejected and condemned him as a malefactor; all which the prophet foresaw by the Spirit of prophecy. But I said; but in the midst of these joyful tidings I discern something which interrupts my joys, and gives me cause of bitter complaint and lamentation. My leanness, my leanness; I faint and pine away for grief, for the following reason. The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; the Jews, who have been frequently guilty of great perfidiousness towards God, are now acting the same part; which he speaks either,
1. Of those who lived in his time; or rather,
2. Of those who should live when the Messias was upon earth, of whom he foresaw by the Spirit that they would forsake God, and reject their Messiah, and thereby bring utter destruction upon themselves. For even the Hebrew doctors expound this place of the perfidiousness of some Jews in the times of the Messiah. And it is not strange that so sad a sight made the prophet cry out, My leanness, &c. The treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously; he repeats it to show the horridness of the crime, and how deeply he was affected with it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain These verses, as those before, plainly speak,
These verses, as those before, plainly speak,
I. Comfort to saints. They may be driven, by the common calamities of the places where they live, into the uttermost parts of the earth, or perhaps they are forced thither for their religion; but there they are singing, not sighing. Thence have we heard songs, and it is a comfort to us to hear them, to hear that good people carry their religion along with them even to the most distant regions, to hear that God visits them there and gives encouragement to hope that he will gather them thence, Deu 30:4. And this is their song, even glory to the righteous: the word is singular, and may refer to the righteous God, who is just in all he has brought upon us. This is glorifying the Lord in the fires. Or the meaning may be, "These songs redound to the glory or beauty of the righteous that sing them." We do the greatest honour imaginable to ourselves when we employ ourselves in honouring and glorifying God. This may have reference to the sending of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, as far as this island of ours, in the days of the Messiah, the glad tidings of which are echoed back in songs heard thence, from churches planted there, even glory to the righteous God, agreeing with the angels' song, Glory be to God in the highest, and glory to all righteous men; for the work of redemption was ordained before the world for our glory.
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II. Terror to sinners. The prophet, having comforted himself and others with the prospect of a saved remnant, returns to lament the miseries he saw breaking in like a mighty torrent upon the earth: "But I said, My leanness! my leanness! woe unto me! The very thought of it frets me, and makes me lean," Isa 24:16. He foresees,
1. The prevalency of sin, that iniquity should abound (Isa 24:16): The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; this is itself a judgment, and that which provokes God to bring other judgments. (1.) Men are false to one another; there is no faith in man, but a universal dishonesty. Truth, that sacred bond of society, has departed, and there is nothing but treachery in men's dealings. See Jer 9:1, Jer 9:2. (2.) They are all false to their God; as to him, and their covenant with him, the children of men are all treacherous dealers, and have dealt very treacherously with their God, in departing from their allegiance to him. This is the original, and this the aggravation, of the sin of the world; and, when men have been false to their God, how should they be true to any other?
2. The prevalency of wrath and judgment for that sin. (2.) The inhabitants of the earth will be pursued from time to time, from place to place, by one mischief or other (Isa 24:17, Isa 24:18): Fear, and the pit, and the snare (fear of the pit and the snare) are upon them wherever they are; for the sons of men know not what evil they may suddenly be snared in, Ecc 9:12. These three words seem to be chosen for the sake of an elegant paranomasia, or, as we now scornfully call it, a jungle of words: Pachad, and Pachath, and Pach; but the meaning is plain (Isa 24:18), that evil pursues sinners (Pro 13:21), that the curse shall overtake the disobedient (Deu 28:15), that those who are secure because they have escaped one judgment know not how soon another may arrest them. What this prophet threatens all the inhabitants of the earth with another makes part of the judgment of Moab, Jer 48:43, Jer 48:44. But it is a common instance of the calamitous state of human life that when we seek to avoid one mischief we fall into a worse, and that the end of one trouble is often the beginning of another; so that we are least safe when we are most secure. (2.) The earth itself will be shaken to pieces. It will be literally so at last, when all the works therein shall be burnt up; and it is often figuratively so before that period. The windows from on high are open to pour down wrath, as in the universal deluge. Upon the wicked God shall rain snares (Psa 11:6); and, the fountains of the great deep being broken up, the foundations of the earth do shake of course, the frame of nature is unhinged, and all is in confusion. See how elegantly this is expressed (Isa 24:19, Isa 24:20): The earth is utterly broken down; it is clean dissolved; it is moved exceedingly, moved out of its place. God shakes heaven and earth, Hag 2:6. See the misery of those who lay up their treasure in the things of the earth and mind those things; they place their confidence in that which will shortly be utterly broken down and dissolved. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard; so unsteady, so uncertain, are all the motions of these things. Worldly men dwell in it as in a palace, as in a castle, as in an impregnable tower; but it shall be removed like a cottage, so easily, so suddenly, and with so little loss to the great landlord. The pulling down of the earth will be but like the pulling down of a cottage, which the country is willing to be rid of, because it does but harbour beggars; and therefore no care is taken to rebuild it: It shall fall, and not rise again; but there shall be new heavens and a new earth, in which shall dwell nothing but righteousness. But what is it that shakes the earth thus and sinks it? It is the transgression thereof that shall be heavy upon it. Note, Sin is a burden to the whole creation; it is a heavy burden, a burden under which it groans now and will sink at last. Sin is the ruin of states, and kingdoms, and families; they fall under the weight of that talent of lead, Zac 5:7, Zac 5:8. (3.) God will have a particular controversy with the kings and great men of the earth (Isa 24:21): He will punish the host of the high ones. Hosts of princes are no more before God than hosts of common men; what can a host of high ones do with their combined force when the Most High, the Lord of hosts, contends with them to abase their height, and scatter their hosts, and break all their confederacies? 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. The kings of the earth shall now be reckoned with upon the earth, to show that verily there is a God that judges in the earth and will render to the proudest of kings according to the fruit of their doings. Let those that are trampled upon by the high ones of the earth comfort themselves with this, that though they cannot, dare not, must not, resist them, yet there is a God that will call them to an account, that will triumph over them upon their own dunghill: for the earth they are kings of is in the eye of God no better. This is general only. It is particularly foretold (Isa 24:22) that they shall be gathered together as prisoners, convicted condemned prisoners, are gathered in the pit, or dungeon, and there they shall be shut up under close confinement. The kings and high ones, who took all possible liberty themselves, and took a pride and pleasure in shutting up others, shall now be themselves shut up. Let not the free man glory in his freedom, any more than the strong man in his strength, for he knows not what restraints he is reserved for. But after many days they shall be visited, either, [1.] They shall be visited in wrath; it is the same word, in another form, that is used (Isa 24:21), the Lord shall punish them; they shall be reserved to the day of execution, as condemned prisoners are, and as fallen angels are reserved in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day, Jde 1:6. Let this account for the delays of divine vengeance; sentence is not executed speedily, because execution-day has not yet come, and perhaps will not come till after many days; but it is certain that the wicked is reserved for the day of destruction, and is therefore preserved in the mean time, but shall be brought forth to the day of wrath, Job 21:30. Let us therefore judge nothing before the time. [2.] They shall be visited in mercy, and be discharged from their imprisonment, and shall again obtain, if not their dignity, yet their liberty. Nebuchadnezzar, in his conquests, made many kings and princes his captives, and kept them in the dungeon in Babylon, and, among the rest, Jehoiachin King of Judah; but after many days, when Nebuchadnezzar's head was laid, his son visited them, and granted (as should seem) some reviving to them all in their bondage; for it is made an instance of his particular kindness to Jehoiachin that he set his throne above the throne of the rest of the kings that were with him, Jer 52:32. 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.
3. Glory to God in all this, Isa 24:23. When all this comes to pass, when the proud enemies of God's church are humbled and brought down, (1.) Then it shall appear, beyond contradiction, that the Lord reigns, which is always true, but not always alike evident. When the kings of the earth are punished for their tyranny and oppression, then it is proclaimed and proved to all the world that God is King of kings - King above them, by whom they are accountable - that he reigns as Lord of hosts, of all hosts, of their hosts, - that he reigns in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, in his church, for the honour and welfare of that, pursuant to the promises on which that is founded, reigns in his word and ordinances, - that he reigns before his ancients, before all his saints, especially before his ministers, the elders of his church, who have their eye upon all the out-goings of his power and providence, and, in all these events, observe his hand. God's ancients, the old disciples, the experienced Christians, that have often, when they have been perplexed, gone into the sanctuary of God in Zion and Jerusalem, and acquainted themselves with his manifestations of himself there, shall see more than others of God's dominion and sovereignty in these operations of his providence. (2.) Then it shall appear, beyond comparison, that he reigns gloriously, in such brightness and lustre that the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, as the smaller lights are eclipsed and extinguished by the greater. Great men, who thought themselves to have as bright a lustre and as vast a dominion as the sun and moon, shall be ashamed when God appears above them, much more when he appears against them. Then shall their faces be filled with shame, that they may seek God's name. 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. In the great day, when the Judge of heaven and earth shall shine forth in his glory, the sun shall by his transcendent lustre be turned into darkness and the moon into blood.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain From the uttermost part of the earth have we…
From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs,.... Of praise and thanksgivings, on account of the judgments of God on antichrist; for the glorious appearance of Christ's kingdom; for the spread of his Gospel throughout the world; for the conversion of the Jews, and the bringing in of the fulness of the Gentiles everywhere; wherefore these songs are heard from all parts of the world, and the uttermost parts of them; these are the voices said to be heard in heaven, or in the church, everywhere, Rev 11:15 so some Jewish writers (x) interpret the words of the days of the Messiah, and of the songs then to be sung:
even glory to the righteous; to the righteous One; meaning either the righteous God, who is essentially righteous in himself, and declaratively in his works of providence and grace, and in the judgments he executes on his enemies; on account of which, particularly, glory is here ascribed unto him, even for his judgments on the great whore, they being just and true, Rev 16:6 or to Christ the righteous One, who is so as God, and as Mediator, and is the author of righteousness to his people; who ascribe the glory of deity, of salvation, and of righteousness to him, who is crowned with glory and honour now, and will be glorified on earth at this time; for then he, and he alone, will be exalted, and will reign before his ancients gloriously: or to righteous men, such who are made righteous by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them: it is a glory to have on the righteousness of Christ; and such as have it are all glorious within, and will be remarkably glorious in the latter day, a crown of glory in the hands of the Lord; and especially in the New Jerusalem church state, when they will have the glory of God upon them, as well as in the ultimate state. Ben Melech observes, that signifies desire and good will; and so may suggest, that the righteous at this time will have all that their hearts can wish for and desire, as well as visibly appear to be the objects of God's light and pleasure. Some think that the word "tzebi", translated "glory", signifies the land of Judea, called "the glory of all lands", Eze 20:6 which will at this time be restored to the Jews, who will now be converted, and be all righteous:
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but I said, my leanness, my leanness, woe unto me: the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously: this the prophet said, which brought leanness upon him; he either pining and fretting at the present state of his people, so very unlike to that which he now had a view of; they being a set of treacherous men, there being no faith in them, with respect to God or one another; no religion or truth, no honour nor honesty among them: or having in view the future state of this people when the Messiah should come; whom they would reject, and treacherously betray into the hands of the Gentiles, and crucify: or else, rather foreseeing, by a spirit of prophecy, the sad times that would be previous to those glorious ones before mentioned; as great declensions among professors; great coldness and lukewarmness in religious affairs, the consequence of which is leanness of soul; the interest of Christ brought very low, his witnesses being slain, and prophesying at an end; and all this through the treachery of false teachers that lie in wait to deceive: unless, rather, it can be thought that this refers to the Laodicean state, when there will be great lukewarmness and indifference in the professors of religion; great carnality and security, and much spiritual leanness, though great boasts of riches and fulness; and which will issue in the dissolution of the world, and the personal appearance of Christ, to which the following part of the chapter seems to relate. The Targum interprets the word "razi", which is repeated, and rendered "leanness", by a "secret" or mystery, thus,
"the prophet said, a secret, a reward for the righteous is shown unto me; a secret punishment for the wicked is revealed unto me;''
and so Jarchi explains it of two secrets, the secret of punishment, and the secret of salvation; but of the latter especially the prophet would not say woe unto me, nor indeed of the former; for as the one is desirable, so the other is but just and righteous, and neither of them secrets, or mysteries: rather, if the idea of a mystery or secret is to be retained, the prophet may be thought to be thrown into distress, in the foreview of the blindness that should happen to Israel, and continue till the fulness of the Gentiles came in, which the apostle calls a mystery, Rom 11:25 and of their rejection, because of their disbelief of the Messiah, and their perfidious usage of him and his followers, dealing very treacherously with them, and betraying them into the hands of wicked men.
(x) Midrash Kohelet, fol. 62. 3.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain From - From all the parts of the earth…
From - From all the parts of the earth in which the Jews are or shall be. Songs - Of joy and praise. Glory - Or, glory be to the righteous. The Lord, the righteous one. But - In the midst of these joyful tidings, I discern something which gives me cause of lamentation. My leanness - I faint and pine away for grief, for the following reason. Treacherously - The Jews, who have been frequently guilty of great perfidiousness towards God, are now acting the same part. Even the Hebrew doctors expound this place of the perfidiousness of some Jews in the times of the Messiah. And it is not strange that so sad a sight made the prophet cry out, My leanness, &c. He repeats it to shew the horridness of the crime.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 16. But I said] The prophet speaks in…
Verse 16. But I said] The prophet speaks in the person of the inhabitants of the land still remaining there, who should be pursued by Divine vengeance, and suffer repeated distresses from the inroads and depredations of their powerful enemies. Agreeably to what he said before in a general denunciation of these calamities: -
"Though there be a tenth part remaining in it;
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Even this shall undergo a repeated destruction."
Isa 6:13. See the note there. - L.
My leanness, my leanness - Or, my secret; so the Vulgate, Montanus, and my old MS; רזן razan has this meaning in Chaldee; but in Hebrew it signifies to make lean, to waste. This sentence in the Hebrew has a strange connexion of uncouth sounds: ואמר רזי לי רזי לי אוי לי בוגדים בגדו ובגד בגדים בגרו Vaomer, razi li razi li, oi li, bogedim bagadu, ubeged bogedim bagadu. This may be equalled by the translation in my Old MS. Bible: And I seide, my priveye thinge to me: my priveye thinge to me: woo to me: The lawe breykynge thei breken: and in lawe brekynge of the overdon thingis, they breken the lawe.
The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously - "The plunderers plunder"] See Clarke on Isa 21:2.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 24:16. From the uttermost part, &c. — From…
Isa 24:16. From the uttermost part, &c. — From all parts of the earth, or land, where the Jews are, or shall be, have we heard songs — Songs of joy and praise; even glory to the righteous — By the righteous, may be here understood, either, 1st, righteous and holy men, who formerly were despised, but now shall be honoured; or, 2d, the Lord, the righteous one, as the Hebrew לצדיק, being singular, properly means; or, 3d, the Messiah, to whom this title of the just, or righteous one, is frequently given. But I said — But in the midst of these joyous tidings, I discern something which interrupts my joys, and gives me cause of bitter complaint and lamentation; My leanness! my leanness! — I faint and pine away for grief; for the following reason: The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously — The Jews, who have been frequently guilty of great perfidiousness toward God, are now acting the same part. This he speaks of those who should live when the Messiah should be upon earth, fore- seeing, by the Holy Spirit, that they would forsake God and reject their Messiah, and thereby bring utter destruction upon themselves. For even the Hebrew doctors expound this place of the perfidiousness of some Jews in the times of the Messiah. And it is not strange that so sad a sight made the prophet cry out, My leanness, &c., the treacherous dealers, &c. This he repeats, to show the horridness of the crime, and how deeply he was affected with it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain From the uttermost part of the earth - The…
From the uttermost part of the earth - The word ‘earth’ here seems to be taken in its usual sense, and to denote countries without the bounds of Palestine, and the phrase is equivalent to remote regions or distant countries (see the note at Isa 11:12). The prophet here represents himself as hearing those songs from distant lands as a grand chorus, the sound of which came in upon and pervaded Palestine. The worship of God would be still continued, though the temple should be destroyed, the inhabitants of the land dispersed, and the land of Judea be a widespread desolation. Amidst the general wreck and woe, it was some consolation that the worship of Yahweh was celebrated anywhere.
Have we heard songs - Or, we do hear songs. The distant celebrations of the goodness of God break on the ear, and amidst the general calamity these songs of the scattered people of God comfort the heart.
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Glory to the righteous - This is the burden and substance of those songs. Their general import and design is, to show that there shall be honor to the people of God. They are now afflicted and scattered. Their temple is destroyed, their land waste, and ruin spreads over the graves of their fathers. Yet amidst these desolations, their confidence in God is unshaken; their reliance on him is firm. They still believe that there shall be honor and glory to the just, and that God will be their protector and avenger. These assurances served to sustain them in their afflictions, and to shed a mild and cheering influence on their saddened hearts.
But I said - But I, the prophet, am constrained to say. This the prophet says respecting himself, viewing himself as left in the land of Canaan; or more probably he personifies, in this declaration, Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of the land that still remained there. The songs that came in from distant lands; the echoing praises from the exiles in the east and the west seeming to meet and mingle over Judea, only served to render the abounding desolation more manifest and distressing. Those distant praises recalled the solemn services of the temple, and the happiness of other times, and led each one of those remaining, who witnessed the desolations, to exclaim, ‘my leanness.’
My leanness, my leanness - The language of Jerusalem, and the land of Judea. This language expresses calamity. The loss of flesh is emblematic of a condition of poverty, want, and wretchedness - as sickness and affliction waste away the flesh, and take away the strength; Psa 109:24 :
My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh faileth of fatness.
Psa 102:5 :
By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
See also Job 6:12; Job 19:20; Lam 3:4. Leanness is also put to denote the displeasure of God, in Psa 106:15 :
And he gave them their request;
But sent leanness into their soul.
Compare Isa 10:16.
The treacherous dealers - The foreign nations that disregard covenants and laws; that pursue their object by deceit, and stratagem, and fraud. Most conquests are made by what are called the stratagems of war; that is, by a course of perfidy and deception. There can be no doubt that the usual mode of conquest was pursued in regard to Jerusalem. This whole clause is exceedingly emphatic. The word implying treachery (בגד bâgad) is repeated no less than five times in various forms in this single clause, and shows how strongly the idea had taken possession of the mind of the prophet. The passage furnishes one of the most remarkable examples of the “paronomasia” occurring in the Bible. בגדוּ בגדים בגדוּ וּבגד בוגדים bâgâdû bogidiym bâgâdû ûbeged bôgediym. In fact, this figure abounds so much in this chapter that Gesenius contends that it is not the production of Isaiah, but a composition belonging to a later and less elegant period of Hebrew literature.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain I said. The prophet, or any other, may speak…
I said. The prophet, or any other, may speak thus in the latter days. (Calmet) --- Myself. I cannot recount what horrid pains I beheld. (St. Jerome) (Menochius) (2 Corinthians xii. 4.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Songs to God come in together to Palestine from…
Songs to God come in together to Palestine from distant lands, as a grand chorus.
glory to the righteous--the burden of the songs (Isa 26:2, Isa 26:7). Amidst exile, the loss of their temple, and all that is dear to man, their confidence in God is unshaken. These songs recall the joy of other times and draw from Jerusalem in her present calamities, the cry, "My leanness." HORSLEY translates, "glory to the Just One"; then My leanness expresses his sense of man's corruption, which led the Jews, "the treacherous dealers" (Jer 5:11), to crucify the Just One; and his deficiency of righteousness which made him need to be clothed with the righteousness of the Just One (Psa 106:15).
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treacherous dealers--the foreign nations that oppress Jerusalem, and overcome it by stratagem (so in Isa 21:2) [BARNES].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 16. From… uttermost part of the earth — From…
16. From… uttermost part of the earth — From every point of the compass, far and near, the shouts of praise are heard. The same strain continues.
But I said — The dark side now looms up to the prophet. In the same instant that he sees glory covering the delivered ones, a new view comes to him of impending calamity on the rejected inhabitants of earth.
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My leanness — This is another rejected rendering. It should be, Destruction to me; that is, Woe to me! The Septuagint and Vulgate most unsuitably have it, A secret to me; mistaking the true original word.
Isaiah’s mind suddenly takes in a view of destruction to oppressing nations, Babylon especially, as the phrase treacherous dealers unerringly suggests.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 16. Other voices from the uttermost part (strictly, “the…
16. Other voices from the uttermost part (strictly, “the skirt”) of the earth are heard singing “Glory to the righteous,” i.e. the righteous people, Israel. But these jubilant utterances of his more fortunately situated fellow-believers only extort from the prophet a cry of despair.
My leanness] Lit. “emaciation to me,” hence R.V. “I pine away.”
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the treacherous dealers …] Cf. ch. Isa_21:2, Isa_33:1. Assonance is here carried to an extreme: “deceivers deceive, yea with deceit do deceivers deceive.”
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (16) From the uttermost part of the earth .…
(16) From the uttermost part of the earth . . .—The words “glory to the righteous” sound at first like a doxology addressed to Jehovah as essentially the Righteous One. Two facts militate, however, against this view. The word translated “glory” is not that commonly used in doxologies, but rather “honour” or “praise,” such as is applied to men (Isa_4:2; Isa_23:9; Isa_28:1; Isa_28:4-5; 2Sa_1:19). (2) The term “the Righteous One “is never used absolutely as a name of ‘God. On these grounds, therefore, it seems better to render “honour to the righteous” (comp. Rom_2:7), to the true Israel of God as a righteous people. The “uttermost part” is, literally, the wing or skirt of the earth.
But I said, My leanness, my leanness . . .—The prophet is recalled from the ideal to the actual, from the glory of the future to the shame and misery of the present. “Leanness,” as in Psa_22:17; Psa_109:24, was the natural symbol of extremest sorrow. In the “treacherous dealers,” literally, robbers, or barbarians, we may find primarily the Assyrian invaders, who were making the country desolate, or the unjust rulers of Judah, who oppressed the people.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Glory to the righteous. The righteous remnant perceive that…
Glory to the righteous. The righteous remnant perceive that the calamities which have come upon the earth are ushering in a time of honor and glory for themselves; and they console themselves by making this fact the burden of some of their songs. Their honor, it must be remembered, is bound up with God"s glory; which will not shine forth fully till their salvation is complete, and they "reign with him" in glory. (2Ti_2:12) But I said, My leanness. The thought of this joyful time, when the saints shall reign with their Lord in a new heaven and a new earth, recalls the prophet (contrast being one of the laws of the association of ideas) to the misery of the present, and his own participation therein. A time of suffering, of wasting, and pining away must be endured for how long he knows not before the joyous consummation, towards which he stretches in hope and confident expectancy, can be reached. This is the period of his "leanness." The treacherous dealers, or ungodly of the earth, will bear sway during this period, and will deal treacherously and cruelly with God"s saints, persecuting them incessantly in a thousand ways. Have dealt. The perfect of prophetic certainty.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 16. Songs from afar.
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"From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous." Beautiful music that! For music has often been set to unworthy ends to the praise of pride and power, to war and wrong. It has been said of one, "I care not who makes a nation"s laws, if I may make their songs." A strong antithetical way of putting, in an exaggerated way, a great truth. The songs of a people are always with them in the field and at home, in toil and in rest.
I THE SUBJECT OF THE SONGS. "Glory to the righteous." How could this otherwise end, than in glory to God? For he is the righteous God, and there is no word by which the Psalms oftener describe him. Thus in praising the righteous we are led onward to praise the righteous God, as the God who inspires righteousness in the hearts of others. Thus we read that "in every nation he that worketh righteousness is accepted of God." No word reaches deeper. We may sing songs to the valiant, and the heroic, and the patriotic, and the brave; but righteousness speaks, not only of courage, but of conscience too.
II THE DISTANCE FROM WHICH THEY COME. "From the uttermost parts of the earth." Prophecy of the time when all nations shall call Christ blessed, and when his praise shall be heard from the rising of the sun to the going down thereof. We have this sound from the distant places, because in the end all true lovers of righteousness will hail Christ, when he is revealed to them, as containing all the fullness of God.
III THE GLORY OF WHICH THEY BREATHE. There are divers kinds of glory. But God"s glory is the glory of the cross! There is an empty glory of self-righteousness, but that is not the glory of the righteous. Far from it. The glory of strength is to help the weak. The glory of wisdom is to enlighten the, ignorant. The glory of righteousness is to shape into order that which is wrong or wrung," from which idea of being twisted and bent from the straight course the word "wrung" comes. Yes. Glory to the righteous! For they are the salt of the earth, the safety of the nation. The Lord our Righteousness is revealed in Christ, whose holy life was not for our admiration only, or for our honor and worship, but was "lived" for us and "laid down" for us, that we might be filled with his strength, and become holy as God is holy. W.M.S.
Vers. 16-22. Five fruits of transgression.
The key-note of this passage is found in the twentieth verse: "The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it." All these dire evils are the consequences of national transgression. They are fivefold.
I IT IMPOVERISHES. The prophet, speaking not only for himself, but for his country, exclaims, "My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me!" (ver. 16). The violation of Divine Law not only
(1) reduces a man"s bodily strength, causing him to waste away, and bringing the pale cheek and the trembling nerve; but it
(2) outs down a man"s resources, changing the princely revenue into a beggar"s dole; moreover, it
(3) impoverishes the mind, causing it to starve on empty folly while it might be nourished with heavenly truth; and
(4) it despoils the soul, making it barren of those noble virtues and those exquisite graces which elevate and beautify human character.
II IT DELUDES. It is full of treachery (ver. 16); its victims delude themselves with the notion that they are escaping, but they only flee from the noise to fall into the pit, or escape from the pit to be entangled in the net (vers. 17, 18). This is "the deceitfulness of sin." Men think they will shake themselves free from their iniquity a little further on, but they find that temptation awaits them at every point, that one sin paves the way for another: indulgence leads down to dishonesty, and dishonesty conducts to falsehood; superstition ends in skepticism, and skepticism in utter unbelief. There is no escape from the consequences of folly but by entering the path of wisdom, from the penalty of sin but by penitence and purity. They who look to time and chance for deliverance are only deluding themselves with a hope which will certainly "make ashamed" those that cherish it.
III IT AGITATES. "The foundations of the earth do shake... the earth is moved exceedingly... (it) shall reel to and fro"(vers. 18-20). There often comes a time in the history of folly, or of crime, or of transgression, when the subject of it individual or collective finds everything unsettled, shaking beneath his (its) feet; it is to him as if the very ground were rocking; friends fall away, kindred disown, confidence is lost, obligations are pressed against him, the last measures are taken, liberty itself is threatened, the blackest clouds overhang; behind is folly and before is ruin, while within are agitation and alarm.
IV IT OPPRESSES AND EVEN CRUSHES. "The transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again" (ver. 20). Sin lies with a heavy weight upon the soul. The sense of guilt, the Wearing weight of wrong-doing, oppresses the spirit, takes away its elasticity, its freshness, its vigor. Sometimes it does much more than that it crushes the soul; it makes it incapable of attempting anything better; it gives way to a fatal despondency, and pursues the evil path even to the bitter end. One of the very worst penalties of sin is the dead weight which it lays on the spirit of the sinner, killing his hope and dooming him to despair and death.
V IT IMPRISONS. The "high ones" were to be "shut up in the prison" (vers. 21, 22). There is no dungeon, however dark and strong, in which the bodies of men have been confined that is so dark and so deplorable as "the pit" or prison" in which sin shuts up its victims. The children of iniquity are slaves; they wear bends which are more firmly riveted than the closest iron fetters on human limbs; they are bondmen indeed; their pitiable thraldom is slavery itself, of which the imprisonment of the body is only the type and picture. In Jesus Christ and in his service is:
1. Enlargement.
2. Truth and disillusion.
3. The calm of conscientiousness and a well-grounded hope.
4. Expectation founded on a wise and holy trustfulness.
5. Spiritual freedom. "Whom the Son makes free, they are free indeed;" "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 we have heard
we have heard
Here "we" refers to Isaiah and the people of Israel. Isaiah is describing something in the future as if it has already happened. AT: "we will hear" (See: Inclusive "We" and Predictive Past)
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I have wasted away, I have wasted away
Isaiah repeats this phrase to emphasize his anguish. He was very concerned because he saw people who deceived others and did not do what they promised to do. AT: "I have become very weak" (See: Parallelism)
The treacherous have dealt treacherously; yes, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously
Isaiah repeats this phrase to emphasize his anguish. AT: "Indeed, those who deceive are now deceiving others" or "Indeed, the deceivers have acted deceitfully" (See: Parallelism)
translationWords
glory
righteous
woe
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 24:16 But my heart is heavy with grief: The…
24:16 But my heart is heavy with grief: The prophets were well acquainted with the emotional pain brought on by the sin of their people and its consequences (see 15:5; 21:4; Jer 15:10; Mic 1:8). • Although aspects of the new world are present, the deceit of the old world still prevails for a time.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.