Isaiah 34:2-8

2 For the LORD'S 1indignation is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies; He has 2utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to 3slaughter.
3 So their slain will be 4thrown out, And their corpses will give off their 5stench, And the mountains will be drenched with their 6blood.
4 And 7all the host of heaven will wear away, And the 8sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.
5 For 9My sword is satiated in heaven, Behold it shall descend for judgment upon 10Edom And upon the people whom I have 11devoted to destruction.
6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in 12Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of 13Edom.
7 14Wild oxen will also fall with them And 15young bulls with strong ones; Thus their land will be 16soaked with blood, And their dust become greasy with fat.
8 For the LORD has a day of 17vengeance, A year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Isaiah 34:2-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 34

This chapter is a prophecy of the destruction of all the antichristian nations of the world, and particularly of Rome, signified by Idumea; which is introduced with a call to a general attention to it, it being a very awful and solemn affair, Isa 34:1 utter and universal destruction is declared, as the effect of God's wrath, Isa 34:2 which is expressed by a dreadful scene of blood, to the melting of the mountains with it, and by the dissolution of the heavens, and the hosts of them, Isa 34:3,4 particularly the destruction of Idumea is denounced by the sword of the Lord being on it, and bathed with the blood, both of the common people, and of their princes, signified by various sorts of creatures, Isa 34:5-7 the cause of which is the Lord's vengeance for the controversy of his church and people, injured by Edom or Rome, Isa 34:8 whose desolate and calamitous state is represented as being like that of Sodom, Isa 34:9,10 and should be no more inhabited by men, nor governed by princes, but be the dwelling of wild beasts and unclean birds, Isa 34:11-15 all which is confirmed by the word and Spirit of God, Isa 34:16,17.

Cross References 17

  • 1. Isaiah 26:20
  • 2. Isaiah 13:5; Isaiah 24:1
  • 3. Isaiah 30:25; Isaiah 63:6; Isaiah 65:12
  • 4. Isaiah 14:19
  • 5. Joel 2:20; Amos 4:10
  • 6. Ezekiel 14:19; Ezekiel 35:6; Ezekiel 38:22
  • 7. Isaiah 13:13; Isaiah 51:6; Ezekiel 32:7, 8; Joel 2:31; Matthew 24:29; 2 Peter 3:10
  • 8. Revelation 6:12-14
  • 9. Deuteronomy 32:41, 42; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 21:3-5
  • 10. Isaiah 63:1; Jer 49:7, 8, 20; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35:1-15; Amos 1:11, 12; Obad 1-14; Malachi 1:4
  • 11. Isaiah 24:6; Isaiah 43:28
  • 12. Isaiah 63:1; Jeremiah 49:13
  • 13. Isaiah 63:1
  • 14. Numbers 23:22; Psalms 22:21
  • 15. Psalms 68:30; Jeremiah 50:27
  • 16. Isaiah 63:6
  • 17. Isaiah 13:6; Isaiah 35:4; Isaiah 47:3; Isaiah 61:2; Isaiah 63:4

Footnotes 8

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