The Meaning of Isaiah 66:19 Explained

Isaiah 66:19

KJV: And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

YLT: And I have set among them a sign, And have sent out of them those escaping unto the nations, (Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, drawing bow, Tubal and Javan, the isles that are far off,) Who have not heard My fame, nor seen Mine honour, And they have declared Mine honour among nations.

Darby: And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow; to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory: and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

ASV: And I will set a sign among them, and I will send such as escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And I will set  a sign  among them, and I will send  those that escape  of them unto the nations,  [to] Tarshish,  Pul,  and Lud,  that draw  the bow,  [to] Tubal,  and Javan,  [to] the isles  afar off,  that have not heard  my fame,  neither have seen  my glory;  and they shall declare  my glory  among the Gentiles. 

What does Isaiah 66:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

God promised to set a sign among His people (cf. Exodus 10:2; Psalm 78:43), the Israelites. This probably refers to the Cross, which He would raise up before He brought judgment on the world at the second advent. Young took the sign to be "the whole wondrous series of events that occurred when the ancient Jewish nation was cast off and the Church of Jesus Christ founded." [1] Then the Lord would send survivors of His people among the nations to proclaim His glory. This may refer to the144 ,000 Jewish missionaries that God will send throughout the earth during the Tribulation (cf. Revelation 7:1-8; Revelation 15:1-4). The nations mentioned include Tarshish (Spain), Put (Libya), Lud (either western Turkey or an African tribe), Meshech (archers?), Rosh (Russia), Tubal (eastern Turkey), and Javan (Greece). Scholars dispute some of these identifications. The point is that this message will go to the farthest reaches of the earth (cf. Romans 11:25).

Context Summary

Isaiah 66:15-24 - All Flesh Shall Worship The Lord
The prophet makes it clear that, whatever blessings accrue in the golden future, they will be apportioned to those alone, who are the Israel of God, not merely by descent but in heart and life. They must be what the Apostle describes in Philippians 3:3. Those who were bent on practicing idolatrous rites, such as passing in procession, with priests as teachers, through gardens and groves devoted to impurity; or who, by partaking of the flesh of animals forbidden in the Levitical law, had become as Gentiles, must suffer with the heathen.
Isaiah 66:19 suggests that the restored Jewish remnant are to become the future missionaries of the world; and the book closes with a vision of the Holy City as the focus and center of the religious life of mankind. It is as though, like John, Isaiah beheld her descending from God out of heaven, with wide-open gates, through which the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor, Isaiah 66:20. The lot of all enemies of goodness is depicted in the everburning fires of Tophet-the rubbish heaps of which are significant of uselessness, Isaiah 66:24.
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 66

1  The glorious God will be served in humble sincerity
5  He comforts the humble by showing the confusion of their enemies
7  With the marvelous growth
10  And the gracious benefits of the church
15  God's severe judgments against the wicked
18  The Gentiles shall have an holy church
24  And see the damnation of the wicked

What do the individual words in Isaiah 66:19 mean?

And I will set among them a sign and I will send like those among them who escape to the nations [to] Tarshish and Pul and Lud who draw the bow and Tubal and Greece [to] the coastlands afar off who not have heard - My fame nor seen My glory and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles
וְשַׂמְתִּ֨י בָהֶ֜ם א֗וֹת וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֣י מֵהֶ֣ם ׀ פְּ֠לֵיטִים אֶֽל־ הַגּוֹיִ֞ם תַּרְשִׁ֨ישׁ פּ֥וּל וְל֛וּד מֹ֥שְׁכֵי קֶ֖שֶׁת תֻּבַ֣ל וְיָוָ֑ן הָאִיִּ֣ים הָרְחֹקִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־ שָׁמְע֤וּ אֶת־ שִׁמְעִי֙ וְלֹא־ רָא֣וּ כְּבוֹדִ֔י וְהִגִּ֥ידוּ כְּבוֹדִ֖י בַּגּוֹיִֽם

וְשַׂמְתִּ֨י  And  I  will  set 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
בָהֶ֜ם  among  them 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine plural
א֗וֹת  a  sign 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: אֹות  
Sense: sign, signal.
וְשִׁלַּחְתִּ֣י  and  I  will  send 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁלַח  
Sense: to send, send away, let go, stretch out.
מֵהֶ֣ם ׀  like 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, third person masculine plural
Root: הֵם 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
פְּ֠לֵיטִים  those  among  them  who  escape 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: פָּלִיט 
Sense: refugee, fugitive, escaped one.
הַגּוֹיִ֞ם  the  nations 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
תַּרְשִׁ֨ישׁ  [to]  Tarshish 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תַּרְשִׁישׁ 
Sense: son of Javan. 2 a Benjamite, son of Bilhan. 3 one of the wise men close to king Ahasuerus of Persia. 4 a city of the Phoenicians in a distant part of the Mediterranean Sea to which the prophet Jonah was trying to flee.
פּ֥וּל  and  Pul 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פּוּל 
Sense: the Babylonian name for Tiglath-pileser III, king of Assyria.
וְל֛וּד  and  Lud 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: לוּד  
Sense: the 4th listed son of Shem and supposed progenitor of the Lydians.
מֹ֥שְׁכֵי  who  draw 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct
Root: מָשַׁךְ  
Sense: to draw, drag, seize.
קֶ֖שֶׁת  the  bow 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
תֻּבַ֣ל  and  Tubal 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: תֻּבַל  
Sense: son of Japheth and grandson of Noah.
וְיָוָ֑ן  and  Greece 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יָוָן  
Sense: a son of Japheth and grandson of Noah.
הָאִיִּ֣ים  [to]  the  coastlands 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: אִי  
Sense: coast, island, shore, region.
הָרְחֹקִ֗ים  afar  off 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: רָחֹוק  
Sense: remote, far, distant, distant lands, distant ones.
שָׁמְע֤וּ  have  heard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
שִׁמְעִי֙  My  fame 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: שֵׁמַע  
Sense: report, a hearing.
וְלֹא־  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
רָא֣וּ  seen 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: רָאָה 
Sense: to see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider.
כְּבוֹדִ֔י  My  glory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
וְהִגִּ֥ידוּ  and  they  shall  declare 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָגַד  
Sense: to be conspicuous, tell, make known.
כְּבוֹדִ֖י  My  glory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
בַּגּוֹיִֽם  among  the  Gentiles 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.