For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
Parallel translations
- WEB For, behold, Yahweh comes out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth also will disclose her blood, and will no longer cover her slain.
- KJV For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
- NKJV For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.
- NASB For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their wrongdoing; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain.
- NLT Look! The Lord is coming from heaven to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will no longer hide those who have been killed. They will be brought out for all to see.
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
God comes out to judge the earth's inhabitants for sin, and hidden bloodshed will be exposed.
Overview
The Lord leaves His dwelling to punish iniquity, and the earth will no longer conceal the blood of the slain. No injustice or hidden sin escapes God's righteous judgment. This sober warning underlines humanity's need for the atonement of Christ, the only refuge from the wrath that will surely come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 21
- Jude 1:14–15Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Rev 6:9–11And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- Isa 13:11I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
- Job 16:18O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.
- Isa 18:4For this is what the LORD has told me: “I will quietly look on from My dwelling place, like shimmering heat in the sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
- Mic 1:3–8For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- Num 35:32–33Nor should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to a city of refuge and allow him to return and live on his own land before the death of the high priest.
- Rev 16:6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink, as they deserve.”
- Ps 50:2–3From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.
- Ezek 24:7–8For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust.
- Gen 4:10–11“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
- Luke 11:50As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
- Isa 30:12–14Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,
- Ezek 8:6“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”
- Luke 11:40You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
- Ezek 9:3–6Then the glory of the God of Israel rose from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side.
- 2 Th 1:7–10and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Hos 5:14–15For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.
- Ezek 10:18–19Then the glory of the LORD moved away from the threshold of the temple and stood above the cherubim.
- Ezek 10:3–5Now when the man went in, the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple, and a cloud filled the inner court.
- Rev 18:24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 26:21 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.