Isaiah34
New King James Version
1Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it.
2For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.
3Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
5“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness.”
8For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.
10It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13And thorns shall come up in its palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortresses; It shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches.
14The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also the night creature shall rest there, And find for herself a place of rest.
15There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate.
16“Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 34.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: God's vengeance against the enemies of his church. (1-8). Their desolation. (9-17).
vv1-8
Here is a prophecy of the wars of the Lord, all which are both righteous and successful. All nations are concerned. And as they have all had the benefit of his patience, so all must expect to feel his resentment. The description of bloodshed suggests tremendous ideas of the Divine judgments. Idumea here denotes the nations at enmity with the church; also the kingdom of antichrist. Our thoughts cannot reach the horrors of that awful season, to those found opposing the church of Christ. There is a time fixed in the Divine counsels for the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of her enemies. We must patiently wait till then, and judge nothing before the time. Through Christ, mercy is exercised to every believer, consistently with justice, and his name is glorified.
vv9-17
Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness. What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us observe how the evidences of the truth continually increase, as one prophecy after another is fulfilled, until these awful scenes bring in more happy days. As Israel was a figure of the Christian church, so the Edomites, their bitter enemies, represent the enemies of the kingdom of Christ. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins for a time, but the enemies of the church shall be desolate for ever.
Key Words
קָרַב: to approach (causatively, bring near) for whatever purpose
גּוֹי: a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts
שָׁמַע: to hear intelligently (often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; causatively, to tell, etc.)
קָשַׁב: to prick up the ears, i.e. hearken
לְאֹם: a community
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
מְלֹא: fulness (literally or figuratively)
תֵּבֵל: the earth (as moist and therefore inhabited); by extension, the globe; by implication, its inhabitants; specifically, a particular land, as Babylonia, Palestine
כֹּל: properly, the whole; hence, all, any or every (in the singular only, but often in a plural sense)
צֶאֱצָא: issue, i.e. produce, children
Cross References
Isaiah 34The rolling up of the heavens like a scroll closely echoes this cosmic judgment imagery.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
A solemn call to the earth and all creation to hear the words of God's judgment.
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The sword of God bathed or made drunk with blood parallels Deuteronomy's song of judgment.
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The day of the Lord's vengeance, where His sword is filled with a sacrifice of slaughter.
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The Lord's sacrificial feast of slaughter where birds and beasts consume the mighty.
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The unquenchable smoke going up forever is echoed in Revelation's description of final doom.
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The dissolution of the heavenly hosts aligns with Joel's prophetic signs in the heavens.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Jesus uses the same falling stars and shaken heavens imagery to describe the end times.
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The dissolution of the cosmic host matches Peter's description of the elements melting.
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Isaiah's later vision of the Lord returning in blood-stained garments from Bozrah in Edom.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Zephaniah's declaration that the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and invited His guests.
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Pitch and brimstone imagery directly mirrors the historic overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.
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The universal summons of the nations to hear God's specific judgment on Edom.
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The physical heavens wearing out like a garment and being folded away.
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Identifies the strength and wild nature of the 'unicorn' (reem) mentioned in judgment.
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Malachi records the literal historical fulfillment of Edom's heritage being laid waste.
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The desolate ruins becoming a dwelling place for unclean birds and wild beasts.
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The disgrace of bodies cast out of their graves without an honorable burial.
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The pairing of blood and the fat of the mighty in sacrificial contexts.
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The cursed land turned to brimstone and salt, mimicking the doom of Sodom.
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The historical military subjugation of Edom by Amaziah, taking Selah.
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The historical hostility of Edom rejoicing over the tragic fall of Jerusalem.
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Establishes Bozrah historically as a prominent seat of Edomite power and kingship.
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Exhortation to diligently search and read the scriptures, parallel to 'seek out of the book'.
Supported by Matthew Henry