Isaiah 34WEB
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Isaiah34

World English Bible · Public Domain

1Come near, you nations, to hear! Listen, you peoples. Let the earth and all it contains hear, the world, and everything that comes from it.

2For Yahweh is enraged against all the nations, and angry with all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over for slaughter.

3Their slain will also be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies will come up. The mountains will melt in their blood.

4All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.

5For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.

6Yahweh’s sword is filled with blood. It is covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their dust made greasy with fat.

8For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, and its land will become burning pitch.

10It won’t be quenched night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.

11But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it. The owl and the raven will dwell in it. He will stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.

12They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.

13Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.

14The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves, and the wild goat will cry to his fellow. Yes, the night creature shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.

15The arrow snake will make her nest there, and lay, hatch, and gather under her shade. Yes, the kites will be gathered there, every one with her mate.

16Search in the book of Yahweh, and read: not one of these will be missing. None will lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.

17He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever. From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Study Guide

Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Isaiah 34.

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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.

Cross References

Isaiah 34
v4Revelation 6:14allusion

The 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.

Supported by JFB

The sword of God bathed or made drunk with blood parallels Deuteronomy's song of judgment.

Supported by JFB

v5Jeremiah 46:10thematic

The day of the Lord's vengeance, where His sword is filled with a sacrifice of slaughter.

Supported by JFB

v6Ezekiel 39:17thematic

The Lord's sacrificial feast of slaughter where birds and beasts consume the mighty.

Supported by JFB

v10Revelation 14:11allusion

The unquenchable smoke going up forever is echoed in Revelation's description of final doom.

Supported by JFB

v4Joel 2:31thematic

The dissolution of the heavenly hosts aligns with Joel's prophetic signs in the heavens.

Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB

v4Matthew 24:29thematic

Jesus uses the same falling stars and shaken heavens imagery to describe the end times.

Supported by JFB

v42 Peter 3:10-12thematic

The dissolution of the cosmic host matches Peter's description of the elements melting.

Supported by JFB

v5Isaiah 63:1thematic

Isaiah's later vision of the Lord returning in blood-stained garments from Bozrah in Edom.

Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB

v6Zephaniah 1:7thematic

Zephaniah's declaration that the Lord has prepared a sacrifice and invited His guests.

Supported by JFB

v9Genesis 19:28typology

Pitch and brimstone imagery directly mirrors the historic overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Supported by JFB

v1Obadiah 1:1thematic

The universal summons of the nations to hear God's specific judgment on Edom.

Supported by JFB

v4Psalms 102:26thematic

The physical heavens wearing out like a garment and being folded away.

Supported by JFB

v7Job 39:9thematic

Identifies the strength and wild nature of the 'unicorn' (reem) mentioned in judgment.

Supported by JFB

v9Malachi 1:3fulfillment

Malachi records the literal historical fulfillment of Edom's heritage being laid waste.

Supported by JFB

v11Revelation 18:2allusion

The desolate ruins becoming a dwelling place for unclean birds and wild beasts.

Supported by Matthew Henry

v3Isaiah 14:19thematic

The disgrace of bodies cast out of their graves without an honorable burial.

Supported by JFB

v62 Samuel 1:22thematic

The pairing of blood and the fat of the mighty in sacrificial contexts.

Supported by JFB

The cursed land turned to brimstone and salt, mimicking the doom of Sodom.

Supported by JFB

v52 Kings 14:7thematic

The historical military subjugation of Edom by Amaziah, taking Selah.

Supported by JFB

v5Psalms 137:7thematic

The historical hostility of Edom rejoicing over the tragic fall of Jerusalem.

Supported by JFB

v6Genesis 36:33thematic

Establishes Bozrah historically as a prominent seat of Edomite power and kingship.

Supported by JFB

v16John 5:39thematic

Exhortation to diligently search and read the scriptures, parallel to 'seek out of the book'.

Supported by Matthew Henry