33 Bible Verses about Islands

On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover—from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coasts and islands of the west—the remnant of His people who survive.

Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing His praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,
you islands with your inhabitants.

Yes, the islands will wait for Me
with the ships of Tarshish in the lead,
to bring your children from far away,
their silver and gold with them,
for the honor of the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
who has glorified you.

Cross over to Cyprus and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet My people have exchanged their Glory
for useless idols.

Nations, hear the word of the Lord,
and tell it among the far off coastlands!
Say: The One who scattered Israel will gather him.
He will watch over him as a shepherd guards his flock,

This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: “Won’t the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you? All the princes of the sea will descend from their thrones, remove their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble continually, and be appalled at you. Then they will lament for you and say of you:

How you have perished, city of renown,
you who were populated from the seas!
She who was powerful on the sea,
she and all of her inhabitants
inflicted their terror.
read more.
Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your downfall;
the islands in the sea
are alarmed by your demise.”

Say to Tyre, who is located at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coasts and islands: This is what the Lord God says:

Tyre, you declared,
‘I am perfect in beauty.’
Your realm was in the heart of the sea;
your builders perfected your beauty.
They constructed all your planking
with pine trees from Senir.
They took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.
read more.
They made your oars of oaks from Bashan.
They made your deck of cypress wood
from the coasts of Cyprus,
inlaid with ivory.
Your sail was made of
fine embroidered linen from Egypt,
and served as your banner.
Your awning was of blue and purple fabric
from the coasts of Elishah.

Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.

Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales;
He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
Lebanon is not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.
All the nations are as nothing before Him;
they are considered by Him
as nothingness and emptiness.

I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away—who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. And they will proclaim My glory among the nations.

“Be silent before Me, islands!
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach, then let them testify;
let us come together for the trial.

Coastlands, listen to me;
distant peoples, pay attention.
The Lord called me before I was born.
He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.

So He will repay according to their deeds:
fury to His enemies,
retribution to His foes,
and He will repay the coastlands.

therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am about to stretch out My hand against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites and wiping out what remains of the coastal peoples. I will execute great vengeance against them with furious rebukes. They will know that I am Yahweh when I take My vengeance on them.”

“I will send fire against Magog and those who live securely on the coasts and islands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.

Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind; the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

Then the seventh poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary from the throne, saying, “It is done!” There were flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder. And a severe earthquake occurred like no other since man has been on the earth—so great was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the Great was remembered in God’s presence; He gave her the cup filled with the wine of His fierce anger. read more.
Every island fled, and the mountains disappeared.

Sing a new song to the Lord;
sing His praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea with all that fills it,
you islands with your inhabitants.
Let the desert and its cities shout,
the settlements where Kedar dwells cry aloud.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy;
let them cry out from the mountaintops.
Let them give glory to the Lord
and declare His praise in the islands.

Therefore, in the east honor the Lord!
In the islands of the west
honor the name of Yahweh,
the God of Israel.

He will not grow weak or be discouraged
until He has established justice on earth.
The islands will wait for His instruction.”

Pay attention to Me, My people,
and listen to Me, My nation;
for instruction will come from Me,
and My justice for a light to the nations.
I will bring it about quickly.
My righteousness is near,
My salvation appears,
and My arms will bring justice to the nations.
The coastlands will put their hope in Me,
and they will look to My strength.

After we tore ourselves away from them and set sail, we came by a direct route to Cos, the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

Sailing slowly for many days, we came with difficulty as far as Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone. With yet more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea. By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Fast was already over, Paul gave his advice read more.
and told them, “Men, I can see that this voyage is headed toward damage and heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship but also of our lives.” But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to set sail from there, hoping somehow to reach Phoenix, a harbor on Crete open to the southwest and northwest, and to winter there. When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. But not long afterward, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island. Since the ship was caught and was unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda, we were barely able to get control of the skiff. After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Then, fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day. On the third day, they threw the ship’s gear overboard with their own hands. For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope that we would be saved was disappearing. Since many were going without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “You men should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete and sustain this damage and loss. Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me, and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. And, look! God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town:

Joseph, a Levite and a Cypriot by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, which is translated Son of Encouragement,

Those who had been scattered as a result of the persecution that started because of Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, Cypriot and Cyrenian men, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. read more.
He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message. But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer and said, “You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

There was such a sharp disagreement that they parted company, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.

Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us and brought us to Mnason, a Cypriot and an early disciple, with whom we were to stay.

Sailing from there, the next day we arrived off Chios. The following day we crossed over to Samos, and the day after, we came to Miletus.

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Jesus.

Then, setting sail from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis,

Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed three days.