The Meaning of Isaiah 24:13 Explained

Isaiah 24:13

KJV: When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done.

YLT: When thus it is in the heart of the land, In the midst of the peoples, As the compassing of the olive, As gleanings when harvest hath been finished,

Darby: For so will it be in the midst of the land among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the grape-gleanings when the vintage is done.

ASV: For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth among the peoples, as the shaking of an olive-tree, as the gleanings when the vintage is done.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

When thus it shall be in the midst  of the land  among  the people,  [there shall be] as the shaking  of an olive tree,  [and] as the gleaning grapes  when the vintage  is done. 

What does Isaiah 24:13 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God"s judgment of the earth will be like a harvest in which He will remove the olives from an olive tree (cf. Isaiah 24:6; Isaiah 17:5-6; Revelation 14:19-20; Revelation 19:15). But there will be a few people left at the end of the harvest; a remnant will survive (cf. Matthew 24:13).

Context Summary

Isaiah 24:1-13 - The Desolation Of A Guilty World
This and the three following chapters form a single prophecy, describing the calamities about to desolate the land, because the inhabitants had transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Primarily it describes the experiences of Palestine under the successive invasions from the Euphrates valley, first of Nineveh and then of Babylon. There is a mysterious connection between the condition of a man's soul and the response of surrounding nature. The very vineyards would sigh in sad accord with the prevailing misery and sin, Isaiah 24:7-9; and in the great city silence would reign in streets decimated by plague and war, Isaiah 24:10-12. Both in the Old and the New Testament the blessings of sufficiency and comfort are the fruits of holy living; whereas, sooner or later, evil overtakes wrong-doing. "Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed," is always true. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 24

1  The doleful judgments of God upon the land
13  A remnant shall joyfully praise him
16  God in his judgments shall advance his kingdom

What do the individual words in Isaiah 24:13 mean?

When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people [it shall be] like the shaking of an olive tree Like the gleaning of grapes when is done the vintage
כִּ֣י כֹ֥ה יִהְיֶ֛ה בְּקֶ֥רֶב הָאָ֖רֶץ בְּת֣וֹךְ הָֽעַמִּ֑ים כְּנֹ֣קֶף זַ֔יִת כְּעוֹלֵלֹ֖ת אִם־ כָּלָ֥ה בָצִֽיר

כֹ֥ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
יִהְיֶ֛ה  it  shall  be 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בְּקֶ֥רֶב  in  the  midst 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֶרֶב  
Sense: midst, among, inner part, middle.
הָאָ֖רֶץ  of  the  land 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
הָֽעַמִּ֑ים  the  people 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
כְּנֹ֣קֶף  [it  shall  be]  like  the  shaking 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נׄקֶף  
Sense: striking off.
זַ֔יִת  of  an  olive  tree 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: זַיִת  
Sense: olive, olive tree.
כְּעוֹלֵלֹ֖ת  Like  the  gleaning  of  grapes 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, feminine plural
Root: עֹלֵלֹות  
Sense: gleaning.
כָּלָ֥ה  is  done 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: כָּלָה  
Sense: to accomplish, cease, consume, determine, end, fail, finish, be complete, be accomplished, be ended, be at an end, be finished, be spent.
בָצִֽיר  the  vintage 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בָּצִיר 
Sense: vintage.