Limitless Word
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal in treachery.
Isaiah 24:16 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB 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.
  • KJV 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.
  • NKJV From the ends of the earth we have heard songs: “Glory to the righteous!” But I said, “I am ruined, ruined! Woe to me! The treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously, Indeed, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”
  • NASB From the ends of the earth we hear songs: “Glory to the Righteous One,” But I say, “I am finished! I am finished! Woe to me! The treacherous deal treacherously, And the treacherous deal very treacherously.”
  • NLT We hear songs of praise from the ends of the earth, songs that give glory to the Righteous One! But my heart is heavy with grief. Weep for me, for I wither away. Deceit still prevails, and treachery is everywhere.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Songs of glory to the Righteous One sound from earth's far ends, yet the prophet grieves over persistent treachery. Joy and lament stand side by side.

Overview

While the remnant sings glory to the Righteous One, Isaiah pines over the treacherous who keep dealing treacherously. The mingling of praise and woe captures the tension of a world still under judgment. Final and full rejoicing awaits the removal of all wickedness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 34

  • Isa 21:2A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
  • Isa 33:1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
  • Jer 3:20But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
  • Jer 5:11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” declares the LORD.
  • Rev 15:3and they sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and wonderful are Your works, O Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!
  • Ps 22:27–31All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
  • Rev 19:1–6After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
  • Ps 58:10The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
  • Mark 13:27And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
  • Acts 13:47For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
  • Isa 48:8You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
  • Isa 45:22–25Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
  • Isa 52:10The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
  • Isa 17:4“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
  • Ps 2:8Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession.
  • Isa 26:15You have enlarged the nation, O LORD; You have enlarged the nation. You have gained glory for Yourself; You have extended all the borders of the land.
  • Hos 6:7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
  • Isa 66:19–20I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
  • Isa 60:21Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.
  • Isa 28:5On that day the LORD of Hosts will be a crown of glory, a diadem of splendor to the remnant of His people,
  • Ps 106:15So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
  • Exod 15:11Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
  • Rev 16:5–7And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments.
  • Hos 5:7They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
  • Lam 1:2She weeps aloud in the night, with tears upon her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
  • Hab 1:3Why do You make me see iniquity? Why do You tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife is ongoing, and conflict abounds.
  • Jer 12:6Even your brothers—your own father’s household—even they have betrayed you; even they have cried aloud against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you.
  • Ps 67:7God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
  • Ps 72:8–11May he rule from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.
  • Mic 5:4He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
  • Isa 10:16Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts will send a wasting disease among Assyria’s stout warriors, and under his pomp will be kindled a fire like a burning flame.
  • Ps 107:1–43Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.
  • Ps 98:3He has remembered His love and faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
  • Jer 12:1Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 24:16YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 24:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.