Bible Strands
Isaiah 5:16
But the LORD of Hosts will be exalted by His justice, and the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh of Hosts addresses the nation of Judah, positioned between the pronouncement that the arrogant will be humbled (v.15) and the image of lambs grazing in their ruins (v.17).
The words — נִקְדַּשׁ (niqdash, H6942) is the nifal of qadosh, turning the adjective "holy" into the action "show himself holy," so the verse pairs the title with its enactment in the same line.
The thread — God's exaltation in judgment recurs in Psalms 46:10 ("I will be exalted among the nations") and Isaiah 12:4 ("Make His works known among the peoples").
Why it lands — God's holiness is not a static attribute but something He performs through justice, which forces the reader to recognize which side of that justice they stand on.
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
But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
Cross-references
- Psalms 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
- 1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.
- Isaiah 12:4 and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.
- Isaiah 29:23 For when he sees his children around him, the work of My hands, they will honor My name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
- Ezekiel 36:23 I will show the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when I show My holiness in you before their eyes.
- 1 Peter 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.
- Isaiah 8:13 The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.
- Isaiah 33:5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.
- Isaiah 57:15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.
- Ezekiel 38:23 I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and I will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.