Isaiah 24:5 · Bible study
Isaiah 24:5 Commentary: The Broken Everlasting Covenant
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
What is the everlasting covenant broken in Isaiah 24:5? Explore its debated identity and the cosmic consequences of human transgression.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Human transgression defiles the earth and activates divine judgment, as the inhabitants have broken the foundational covenant.
- Key words: Torah (laws), choq (statute/decrees), berit (covenant), together they cover every level of God’s revealed will.
- Main debate: The identity of the 'everlasting covenant', Noahic, Mosaic, or natural moral law, and whether the judgment is local (Israel) or global.
- Theological theme: Covenant faithfulness and the cosmic consequences of sin; creation itself suffers when humanity rebels.
- Best use: Teaching on corporate sin, ecological consequence of disobedience, and the hope that judgment is not God’s final word.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
The earth is defiled by its people; they have transgressed the laws; they have overstepped the decrees and broken the everlasting covenant.
WEB World English Bible 2000
The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.
KJV King James Version 1769
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And the land hath been defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed laws, They have changed a statute, They have made void a covenant age-during.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And the land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, broken the everlasting covenant.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And the earth is infected by the inhabitants thereof: because they have transgressed the laws, they have changed the ordinance, they have broken the everlasting covenant.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y la tierra se inficionó bajo sus moradores; porque traspasaron las leyes, falsearon el derecho, rompieron el pacto sempiterno.
Pois a terra está contaminada por causa de seus moradores; pois transgridem as leis, mudam os estatutos, e anulam o pacto eterno.
Le pays était profané par ses habitants;
Das Land ist entheiligt von seinen Einwohnern; denn sie übertreten das Gesetz und ändern die Gebote und lassen fahren den ewigen Bund.
Want het land is bevlekt vanwege zijn inwoners; want zij overtreden de wetten, zij veranderen de inzettingen, zij vernietigen het eeuwig verbond.
La terra è profanata dai suoi abitanti, perch’essi han trasgredito le leggi, han violato il comandamento, han rotto il patto eterno.
Przeto, że ta ziemia splugawiona jest pod obywatelami swoimi; albowiem przestąpili prawa, odmienili ustawy, wzruszyli przymierze wieczne.
И земля осквернена под живущими на ней, ибо они преступили законы, изменили устав, нарушили вечный завет.
地 被其上的 居民 污穢；因為 他們犯了 律法，廢了 律例，背了 永 約。
The earth has been made unclean by those living in it; because the laws have not been kept by them, the orders have been changed, and the eternal agreement has been broken.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Isaiah 24:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree that this verse explains why God's judgment falls so heavily in the surrounding passage. The earth is defiled, literally 'profaned', because its inhabitants have broken the divine order in three escalating ways. Matthew Henry, Wesley, and Gill all read the 'laws' as the commandments of God, especially the Mosaic law. Barnes and Calvin emphasize that the 'statute' (choq) refers to the fixed, engraved decrees of God. The main point of debate is the identity of the 'everlasting covenant.' The Cambridge Bible connects it to the Noahic covenant (Genesis 9:16), noting that the context echoes the flood judgment. Wesley and others see it as the Abrahamic covenant, while Barnes and Calvin understand it as the moral law written on conscience. All agree that the breach is total and carries consequences for the whole created order.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Noahic covenant view: The phrase 'everlasting covenant' appears in Genesis 9:16, and the context of universal judgment (flood imagery) supports this reading (Cambridge, Keil & Delitzsch).
- Mosaic covenant view: The terms 'laws' and 'statutes' are characteristic of the Sinai covenant; Wesley and Poole see the reference to the covenant with Abraham and Moses.
- Moral law / natural order view: Barnes and Calvin argue that the covenant refers to the immutable laws of justice and nature, written on the human conscience.
What is clear: The verse teaches that human transgression pollutes the earth and brings divine judgment, and that the broken covenant represents a fundamental rupture in the relationship between God and humanity.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Identity of the 'everlasting covenant' | It refers to a divine covenant that is perpetual and foundational to the relationship between God and his people. | The Cambridge Bible sees the Noahic covenant (Gen 9:16) as the referent, while Wesley and Matthew Henry connect it to the Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant. Barnes and Calvin understand it as the moral law engraved on conscience. |
| Scope of judgment: local land or whole earth | The passage describes widespread devastation that includes many people. | Jamieson-Fausset-Brown and Poole limit the judgment to the land of Canaan, whereas Keil and Delitzsch insist on a universal scope based on the parallels with the flood story. |
| Meaning of 'changed the ordinance' (chalapu choq) | It indicates a deliberate turning away from God’s established statutes. | Gill takes it as the alteration of Christian ordinances (baptism, Lord’s Supper), while traditional Reformed exegesis sees it as setting aside the Mosaic statutes. The Hebrew verb can mean 'passed by' or 'disregarded' (Cambridge). |
| Nature of the earth's pollution (chaneph) | The earth suffers corruption because of the inhabitants’ sin. | Barnes interprets it literally as bloodshed staining the ground (Num 35:33). Calvin and Gill allow for a figurative sense: the earth becomes barren or unfaithful, withholding its fruit because of human wickedness. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse stands at the heart of Isaiah's 'Apocalypse' (chapters 24, 27), a passage that widens the prophet's focus from Israel to the entire inhabited world. The language deliberately recalls the primeval story: 'The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence' (Genesis 6:11). Just as the flood came because humanity broke the creation order, here the earth suffers again because its people 'transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.'
The phrase 'everlasting covenant' echoes the promise God made to Noah after the flood (Genesis 9:16). If this is the covenant in view, then the sin described includes the violation of basic commandments given to all humanity, especially the prohibition against murder (Genesis 9:5, 6). But other voices in the tradition read the covenant as the Mosaic law given to Israel. The Hebrew word for 'earth' (eretz) can mean either the specific land of Israel or the whole planet. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown takes it as 'the land' of Canaan, while Keil and Delitzsch insist on a universal scope. This double potential, a local covenant broken with far-reaching consequences, gives the verse its haunting power.
The pollution of the land is a concrete reality in the Old Testament: bloodshed defiles the ground (Numbers 35:33), and the earth itself is said to 'vomit out' its inhabitants when they defile it (Leviticus 18:28). Isaiah 24:5 presses this pattern to its breaking point.
Textual Notes
Adam Clarke notes that the Hebrew plural 'laws' (torot) is read as singular 'law' (torah) by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee versions. This variant may indicate an early interpretation that focused on the Mosaic law. The Masoretic Text preserves the plural, which the other supplied translations follow. No other significant variants are reported in the consulted sources.
Reception History
Christian interpreters from the early church onward have connected the 'everlasting covenant' of Isaiah 24:5 to the covenant with Noah, seeing the flood as a type of final judgment. The verse appears in discussions of the Noachic laws (e.g., in the early church’s approach to Gentile converts). Reformation commentators like Calvin read the covenant as the natural order of creation, while later Baptist exegete John Gill applied the verse specifically to the perceived corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. In modern times, the verse has been taken up by ecological theology, highlighting the link between sin and environmental degradation.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The earth shares in the consequences of human sin. The ground mourns and fades because of what its inhabitants have done (vv. 4, 5). This is not a passive backdrop; creation itself is caught up in the breach.
- Sin is a breach of covenant, not just a personal failing. Three verbs, transgressed, violated, broken, show deliberate, comprehensive rebellion. The use of 'covenant' lifts the offense from mere rule-breaking to relational betrayal.
- The broken covenant demands a curse, but also points forward to a new one. The curse devours the earth (v. 6), yet the remnant that survives (v. 6) becomes the seed for restoration (ch. 25, 27). Judgment clears ground for grace.
Five-point outline
- The earth is defiled. The verb chaneph means polluted or profaned; the very ground is corrupted by the inhabitants’ sin.
- A threefold description of transgression: laws (torah), statutes (choq), covenant (berit). Each term escalates the seriousness, from written instruction to engraved decree to binding relationship.
- The identity of the everlasting covenant: Is it the Noahic promise (Cambridge), the Mosaic covenant (Wesley), or the moral law (Barnes, Calvin)? The answer shapes where we locate the primary audience, Israel or all humanity.
- The consequences: curse and burning. Verse 6 shows that sin has been stored up. The curse devours; the inhabitants are 'burned' (consumed). Only a few remain.
- Hope beyond judgment. The same chapters that describe desolation end with a feast on the mountain (Isaiah 25:6, 8) and the wiping away of tears. The breaking of the old covenant opens the way for the new.
Illustration hooks
- A community ignores building codes for decades; eventually a structure collapses. The breach was slow, but the consequences were certain. Sin compromises the foundations of society.
- Smoking inside a house stains walls and curtains over time. Sin pollutes the environment in ways the sinner often cannot see, until the damage is visible.
- An heirloom passed down with conditions: use it this way or lose it. Breaking the conditions voids the blessing. The covenant was a gift with terms; ignoring those terms brings loss.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Is God still judging nations through natural disasters? How does this verse relate to climate change and environmental crisis?
- What does it mean for us individually to 'break covenant' with God? Is it limited to major sins, or does it include daily neglect?
- If the covenant was 'everlasting,' how can it be broken? Does this threaten God’s faithfulness?
Leading a Discussion
Isaiah 24:5 forces readers to consider the connection between human morality and the health of the planet. As you discuss, listen for how the passage speaks to corporate responsibility rather than just personal guilt. The threefold description of transgression invites us to examine the depth of our rebellion against God’s order.
Discussion questions
- What do you notice about the condition of the earth in this verse? What words does the prophet use to describe it?
- The verbs are 'transgressed,' 'violated,' and 'broken.' What do these words imply about the attitude of the people toward God’s commands?
- How do the cross-references (Genesis 6:11, Leviticus 18:24, 28) help you understand what the 'everlasting covenant' might be? Which reading seems most natural to you?
- Why do you think the covenant is called 'everlasting'? What does that tell us about God’s original intention?
- In what ways does sin 'defile' the earth today? Can you think of examples where human actions have polluted the land, air, or water in ways that reflect spiritual corruption?
- How does knowing that the covenant was broken affect your view of God’s justice? How does it shape your understanding of grace?
- The chapter ends with a remnant left alive. What hope does that offer for those who live under the weight of judgment?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 3:17 | To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. |
| Genesis 3:18 | It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. |
| Genesis 6:11 | The earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. |
| Genesis 6:13 | God said to Noah, “I will bring an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them and the earth. |
| Genesis 17:13 | He who is born in your house, and he who is bought with your money, must be circumcised. My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. |
| Genesis 17:14 | The uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant.” |
| Leviticus 18:24 | “‘Don’t defile yourselves in any of these things; for in all these the nations which I am casting out before you were defiled. |
| Leviticus 18:28 | that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the Hebrew word here is torah, singular, not plural. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Chaldee versions all support this singular reading. He treats this textual detail as important for understanding the passage.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes interprets the earth being defiled as literal bloodshed from widespread injustice and cruelty, favoring this reading over a general sense of wickedness. He takes the changed ordinance as the actual replacement of Moses' statutes with new
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin argues that the earth actively deceives those who cultivate it, rather than merely being polluted. This failure comes from human sin reversing the natural order where earth should nourish like a mother. He especially applies this to Israel, whose rebellion against God made their transgression worse.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentator identifies the curse on the earth as a violation of the covenant God made with Noah after the flood. The sin that profanes the land is not limited to Israel but extends worldwide, breaking the fundamental moral law against murder, which is the covenant's central stipulation. The writer suggests this understanding developed later in Israel's history.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes point to human sin as the direct cause of the earth's failure. People transgressed God's laws, altered His ordinances, and broke the everlasting covenant. This rebellion is what makes the land itself unfaithful and unreliable.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill applies this verse to the Roman Catholic Church, which he identifies as the antichrist. For him, the earth is defiled by Rome's idolatries and bloodshed. The lawless one has changed the gospel ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and broken the new covenant by corrupting Scripture and setting up his own institutions.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB specifies that "earth" here means the land of Israel, defiled specifically by innocent blood. He then distinguishes three elements in play: the moral laws, the positive statutes, and the national covenant that was meant to last forever between God and His people.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that the earth itself shares in the curse because it became wicked through human sin. They see the earth mourning like a withered plant, and the curse devours it like fire. The divine law broken here includes the universal covenant with Noah, not just Israel's law, so all humanity is guilty.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange insists that Isaiah 24-27 describes the final end of the world, not any historical event. He points to four signs: the earth itself is destroyed, judgment reaches the stars, death is abolished, and the dead are raised. This can only be Isaiah's own prophecy, not a later writer's.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry emphasizes that God's judgment falls without distinction on every rank and station, making the devastation complete. He notes the prophecy piles up image after image to drive home one point: human sin has defiled the earth itself, and the curse consumes everything, leaving only a few survivors.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley defines each key term in the verse: defilement comes from the people's wickedness, "ordinance" is a singular standing for all God's worship commands, and the covenant between God and Abraham requires perpetual obedience from Israel as its condition.