Isaiah 24:14

Isa 24:14 They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea.

Ver. 14. They shall lift up their voice, &c.] Laudabunt Deum et laetabuntur: this elect remnant in all countries shall be filled with spiritual joy and peace through the belief of the truth, which shall vent itself by singing praises to God. And here we have the very mark of the true Church, which is to celebrate and profess the great and glorious name of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For the majesty of the Lord.] Or, For the magnificence; that great work of his especially of divulging his gospel all the world over, and thereby gathering his Church out of all nations.

They shall cry aloud from the sea,] i.e., From the islands and transmarine parts, as we do now from Great Britain - "thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" - calling to our neighbour nations, and saying,

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.

24:14-16 In spite of wailing and ruin, the sound of praise is heard from all directions. Even while still experiencing the pain of the devastation of the old world, the godly will respond with joyous expectation for the new world.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

From the utmost coasts of the world, where the Gospel shall be preached, as verse 16.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

They--those who are left: the remnant.

sing for the majesty of the Lord--sing a thanksgiving for the goodness of the Lord, who has so mercifully preserved them.

from the sea--from the distant lands beyond the sea, whither they have escaped.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 14. They shall lift up their voice - "But these shall lift up their voice"] That is, they that escaped out of these calamities. The great distresses brought upon Israel and Judah drove the people away, and dispersed them all over the neighbouring countries: they fled to Egypt, to Asia Minor, to the islands and the coasts of Greece. They were to be found in great numbers in most of the principal cities of these countries. Alexandria was in a great measure peopled by them. They had synagogues for their worship in many places, and were greatly instrumental in propagating the knowledge of the true God among these heathen nations, and preparing them for the reception of Christianity. This is what the prophet seems to mean by the celebration of the name of JEHOVAH in the waters, in the distant coasts, and in the uttermost parts of the land. מים mayim, the waters; υδωρ, Sept.; υδατα, Theod.; not מים miyam from the sea.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(14) They shall cry aloud from the sea . . .—The utterers of the praise are obviously the remnant of the saved, whether of the “Jews of the dispersion,” or of the Gentiles. To them there appears in the midst of the desolation, the vision of the glory of the Lord, and far off, from the sea (the Mediterranean, as the great sea of the ancient world) they raise their song of praise.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

14. They shall lift up their voice] Rather: These lift up their voice. The pronoun at the beginning is emphatic and stands in contrast to the “I” of Isa_24:16.

they shall sing, for the majesty …] Better (following the accents) they shout: for the majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud, &c. The last words from the sea (i.e. the Mediterranean) point to the West as the quarter whence the songs of triumph proceed. Cf. “in the coasts,” Isa_24:15.

14–16. Already, indeed, the prophet can hear songs of praise ascending from distant parts of the earth, hailing the dawn of a better day; but he himself cannot share these enthusiastic hopes. It is not likely that this representation is purely ideal. Events must have occurred which excited the premature expectation of an immediate deliverance. It is difficult to conceive the historical situation which is presupposed. The most natural supposition will be that the singers referred to are Israelites of the Dispersion, who follow with sympathetic interest the development of some great crisis in the fortunes of the people of God, but whose vision is unable to perceive the darker signs of the times which are manifest to the prophet. A more exact determination of the circumstances must depend on the date which is found best to harmonise all the indications of the prophecy.

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.

They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing,.... That is, as the Septuagint version adds,

"they that are left upon the earth;''

these shall lift up their voice, in singing the praises of God, for his judgments on Babylon, and avenging the blood of his saints; and for their deliverance and salvation, and the inestimable blessings they are now put into the possession of; these are they, who, having gotten the victory over the beast and his image, sing the song of Moses and the Lamb, Rev 15:2,

for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea: so the Hebrew accents distinguish these clauses; and the sense is, that from the west, as Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it, from the western nations, where Protestantism chiefly prevails; or from the Mediterranean Sea, which lay west of Judea; from the maritime countries, the countries bordering upon it, where at this time will appear many that will embrace the Gospel of Christ; or from the isles of the sea, as the phrase is explained in the next verse Isa 24:15, such as our isles of Great Britain and Ireland; great acclamations will be made unto the Lord, on account of his glorious majesty, seen in the destruction of antichrist, and in setting up his own kingdom and glory: these are the four and twenty elders, who will fall down, and give thanks to Christ, for taking to himself his great power, and reigning; and these triumphant and victorious persons are represented as standing on a sea, while they make their shouts and hallelujahs; see Rev 11:16 this, with what follows in the two next verses Isa 24:15, belong to the Philadelphian church state, or spiritual reign of Christ, and express the light and joy that will attend that.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

They shall lift up their voice - They who are left in the land; or who are not carried away to Babylon. ‘To lift up the voice’ in the Scriptures may denote either grief or joy; compare Gen 21:6; 1Sa 24:16; Jdg 2:4; Rth 1:9, ..., where to lift up the voice is conected with weeping; and Eze 21:22; Psa 93:3; Isa 40:29; Isa 42:11, etc., where it is connected with exultation and joy. The latter is evidently the idea here, that the few who would escape from captivity by fleeing to neighboring countries, would lift up their voice with exultation that they had escaped.

They shall sing for the majesty of the Lord - They shall sing on account of the glory, or goodness of Yahweh, wire had so mercifully kept and preserved them.

They shall cry aloud from the sea - From the isles and coasts of the Mediterranean where they would have escaped, and where they would find a refuge. No doubt many of the inhabitants adjacent to the sea, when they found the land invaded, would betake themselves to the neighboring islands, and find safety there until the danger should be overpast. Lowth renders this,

‘The waters shall resound with the exaltation of Jehovah,’

Where he supposes מים should be rendered as if pointed מים mayâm ‘waters,’ not as it is in the present Hebrew text, מים miyâm ‘from the sea.’ The sense is not materially different; but there seems to be no good reason for departing from the usual interpretation.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Sea. The few elect (ver. 13.) being rescued from the misery of the world, shall praise God. (Haydock) --- They are exhorted to lift up their heads, Luke xxi. 28. (Menochius)

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).

They; the remnant preserved.

For the majesty of the Lord; for his glorious power and goodness manifested in their deliverance.

They shall cry aloud, in way of exultation and thanksgiving to God.

From the sea; from the isles of the sea, as this is explained in the next verse; from those parts beyond the sea, into which they were carried captive, and in which they were miraculously preserved.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

14. They shall lift up their voice — Here is another of Isaiah’s lightning-like transitions. The humble gleaned ones — the remnant — the returned escaped ones, of Isa_24:13 — the representatives of all the delivered faithful ones of Israel — the sifted and purified Church of Jehovah.

They — In the original the pronoun is locatively emphatic, designating the righteous few as a special class.

They shall sing — Shall celebrate by loud acclamation.

The majesty of the Lord — In overpowering oppressors, and in bringing deliverance to the meek and true children of God — “the remnant.”

They shall cry aloud — This verb is what in Hebrew is called the preterite present. The people have shouted aloud, and do still, as a habit. The verbs preceding this are in the future present: They, from this time on, shall cry, as a habit also.

Cry aloud from the sea — Which may mean for deliverances from the sea, or, more than the sea; that is, than at the sea, namely, the Red Sea, under Miriam:

see Exodus chap. 15; or, from the direction of the sea, that is, from the west. This last is to be preferred, as will be seen from the next verse.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They shall lift up their voice. Even in this time of depression and ruin there shall he a "remnant," which will be faithful to God, and which, from the midst of the sufferings and calamities of the period, will "lift up its voice," in songs of adoration and praise, to Jehovah, and sing, or "send forth a cry." This chorus of praise will go forth to a large extentfrom the sea; i.e. from the Mediterranean.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

There is now a church there refined by the judgment, and rejoicing in its apostolic calling to the whole world. "They will lift up their voice, and exult; for the majesty of Jehovah they shout from the sea: therefore praise ye Jehovah in the lands of the sun, in the islands of the sea the name of Jehovah the God of Israel." The ground and subject of the rejoicing is "the majesty of Jehovah," i.e., the fact that Jehovah had shown Himself so majestic in judgment and mercy (Isa 12:5-6), and was now so manifest in His glory (Isa 2:11, Isa 2:17). Therefore rejoicing was heard "from the sea" (the Mediterranean), by which the abode of the congregation of Jehovah was washed. Turning in that direction, it had the islands and coast lands of the European West in front (iyyi hayyâm; the only other passage in which this occurs is Isa 11:11, cf., Eze 26:18), and at its back the lands of the Asiatic East, which are called 'urim, the lands of light, i.e., of the sun-rising. This is the true meaning of 'urim, as J. Schelling and Drechsler agree; for Dderlein's comparison of the rare Arabic word awr, septentrio is as far removed from the Hebrew usage as that of the Talmud אור אורתּא, vespera. Hitzig's proposed reading באיים (according to the lxx) diminishes the substance and destroys the beauty of the appeal, which goes forth both to the east and west, and summons to the praise of the name of Jehovah the God of Israel, על־כּן, i.e., because of His manifested glory. His "name" (cf., Isa 30:27) is His nature as revealed and made "nameable" in judgment and mercy.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

“They shall raise their voice, they shall sing (or shout), for the majesty of Jehovah they cry aloud from the sea.” The pronoun at the beginning is emphatic. ‘They’, the few dispersed survivors of these judgments.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They will lift up their voices and shout the majesty of Yahweh

The phrase "lift up their voices" is an idiom that means to speak loudly. AT: "They will sing and shout about the majesty of Yahweh" (See: Idiom)

They will

Here "They" refers to those who are still alive after Yahweh devastates the earth.

and will joyfully shout from the sea

Here "the sea" refers to the Mediterranean Sea which is west of Israel. AT: "and those in the west towards the sea will shout with joy" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

Therefore in the east glorify Yahweh

The phrase "in the east" represents the people living east of Israel. Isaiah is commanding these people as if they were there with him. But, he is talking to the people in the future after God devastates the earth. AT: "Therefore everyone from distant lands in the east will glorify Yahweh" (See: Metonymy and Apostrophe and Predictive Past)

in the isles of the sea give glory

Isaiah is commanding the people who live on the islands in the Mediterranean sea as if they were there with him. But, he is talking to the people in the future after God devastates the earth. AT: "everyone in the islands will give glory" (See: Metonymy and Apostrophe and Predictive Past)

to the name of Yahweh

Here "name" represents Yahweh. AT: "to Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

voice

majesty

Yahweh

glory

glory

name

God

Israel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

They shall raise their voice For those few survivors shall come the good that I prophesied above.

they shall shout for joy more than [by the] sea (Lit., they shall shout for joy from the sea.) More than they shouted for joy by the sea during the redemption from Egypt.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

They shall lift up, etc. All commentators agree that from the words, Behold, the Lord maketh, etc. (ver. 1), the prophet refers to the remote future, to the war of Gog and Magog; only R. Moses Hakkohen refers this prophecy to the king of Assyria, and finds in a feast of fat things (25:6) the indication of the destruction of the hosts of Sennacherib, which remains the subject of the prophecy until the words, Woe to the crown of pride, etc. (28:1). —

They shall lift up, etc., they that escaped, etc.

ירנו They shall shout. Comp. הרנה the proclamation (1 Kgs. 22:36). They shall cry aloud from the sea. They that go on the sea, shall cry, etc. צהלו They shall cry aloud. Comp. צהלת הסום the neighing of the horse.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.