Bible Strands
Isaiah 24:23
The moon will be confounded and the sun will be ashamed; for the LORD of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders with great glory.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses Judah immediately after describing the confinement of nations in a dungeon. The declaration follows a pronouncement of delayed judgment and announces the establishment of Yahweh's rule.
The words — חָפְרָה (cha.fe.Rah) translates literally to "it will be abashed," while מָלַךְ (ma.Lakh) means "he will reign." These terms structurally bind the verse's movement from cosmic shame to sovereign kingship.
The thread — The motif of celestial bodies losing their light or glory runs through Isaiah 13:10 and Isaiah 60:19, and appears in Revelation 21:23 where the New Jerusalem requires no sun or moon. These references trace a consistent biblical pattern where divine presence supersedes created illumination.
Why it lands — The text states that the sun and moon will be confounded and ashamed when Yahweh reigns on Mount Zion with great glory. It requires the reader to acknowledge that created order is subordinate to divine authority and to adjust expectations accordingly.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 60:19 No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
- Isaiah 13:10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
- Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
- Revelation 22:5 There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
- Hebrews 12:22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to myriads of angels
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion, for great among you is the Holy One of Israel.”
- Isaiah 30:26 The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.
- Micah 4:7 And I will make the lame into a remnant, the outcast into a strong nation. Then the LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and forever.
- Revelation 6:12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red,
- Exodus 15:21 And Miriam sang back to them: “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; the horse and rider He has thrown into the sea.”