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.
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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 1:14–15And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
- Rev 6:9–11And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
- Isa 13:11And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
- Job 16:18O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.
- Isa 18:4For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
- Mic 1:3–8For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth.
- Num 35:32–33And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.
- Rev 16:6For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
- Ps 50:2–3Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
- Ezek 24:7–8For her blood is in the midst of her; she set it upon the top of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground, to cover it with dust;
- Gen 4:10–11And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
- Luke 11:50That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation;
- Isa 30:12–14Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon:
- Ezek 8:6He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.
- Luke 11:40Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also?
- Ezek 9:3–6And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer’s inkhorn by his side;
- 2 Th 1:7–10And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
- Hos 5:14–15For I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him.
- Ezek 10:18–19Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
- Ezek 10:3–5Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
- Rev 18:24And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
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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
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