Isaiah 42:15

15 I will cause mountains and hills to dry up, and I will cause all their herbage to wither; and I will make rivers like islands, and I will cause pools to dry up.

Isaiah 42:15 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 42:15

I will make waste mountains and hills
Kingdoms, greater and lesser; kings and governors, as Jarchi interprets it; and so Kimchi understands it of the kings of the nations; by them are meant the emperors of Rome, and their governors under them, that set themselves against Christ and his Gospel, but were overcome by him; these mountains and hills became a plain before him: "every mountain and island were moved out of their places, and the kings of the earth, and the great men hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains, and called upon them to fall on them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb", ( Revelation 6:14-16 ) : and dry up all their herbs;
the common people, and common soldiers that were with them, and on their side; comparable, for smallness, weakness, and number, to the grass of the mountains and hills: and I will make the rivers islands, and dry up the pools;
extirpate all the remains of idolatry, rivers and fountains being sacred with the Heathens, as mountains and hills were places where sacrifices were offered to idols. Unless by it rather should be meant, that the Lord would remove all impediments out of the way of his people, or which were obstacles of their conversion; just as he dried up the waters of the Red sea and Jordan, to make way for the people of Israel; to which the allusion may be, and which agrees with the following words.

Isaiah 42:15 In-Context

13 Yahweh goes forth like a mighty warrior; he stirs up zeal like a man of war. He raises the war cry, indeed he raises the battle shout; he prevails against his foes.
14 I have been silent for a long time; I have kept silent; I have restrained myself like one giving birth; I will moan, pant, and gasp together.
15 I will cause mountains and hills to dry up, and I will cause all their herbage to wither; and I will make rivers like islands, and I will cause pools to dry up.
16 And I will lead the blind by a road they do not know; I will cause [them] to tread on paths they have not known. I will make darkness {in their presence} into light and rough places into level ground. These [are] the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.
17 They shall turn back; they shall be {greatly ashamed}, those who trust in an image, who say to a cast image, "You [are] our gods."
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.