Charles Ellicott Commentary Isaiah 24:16

"From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs: Glory to the righteous. But I said, I pine away, I pine away, woe is me! the treacherous have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous have dealt very treacherously." — Isaiah 24:16 (ASV)

From the uttermost part of the earth ... — The words glory to the righteous sound at first like a doxology addressed to Jehovah as essentially the Righteous One. Two facts, however, argue against this view:

1. The word translated “glory” is not that commonly used in doxologies, but rather “honour” or “praise,” such as is applied to men (Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 23:9; Isaiah 28:1; Isaiah 28:4–5; 2 Samuel 1:19).
2. The term “the Righteous One” is never used absolutely as a name of God.

On these grounds, therefore, it seems better to interpret this as “honour to the righteous” (Romans 2:7), referring to the true Israel of God as a righteous people. The phrase uttermost part is, literally, the wing or skirt of the earth.

But I said, My leanness, my leanness ... — The prophet is recalled from the ideal to the actual, from the glory of the future to the shame and misery of the present. “Leanness,” as in Psalms 22:17; Psalms 109:24, was the natural symbol of extremest sorrow. In the treacherous dealers, literally, robbers, or barbarians, we may find primarily the Assyrian invaders, who were making the country desolate, or the unjust rulers of Judah, who oppressed the people.