King James Version
Isaiah 34
17 verses with commentary
Judgment Against the Nations
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. all that: Heb. the fulness thereof
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KJV Study Commentary
This prophetic summons calls all nations to witness God's sovereign judgment. The Hebrew imperative "qirbû" (come near) demonstrates God's universal authority over all peoples, not just Israel. This eschatological oracle introduces themes that culminate in Revelation's final judgment, where every knee shall bow. The cosmic scope ("earth...world") reveals that God's justice extends beyond temporal ...
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XXXIV.
(1) **Come near, ye nations, to hear . . .**—The two chapters that follow have a distinct character of their own. They form, as it were, the closing epilogue of the first great collection of Isaiah’s prophecies, the historical section that follows (Isaiah 36-39) serving as a link between them and the great second volume, which comes as an independent whole. Here, accordingly, we have to dea...
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**6. withdrawn--**He knocked when she was sleeping; for to have left her then would have ended in the death sleep; He withdraws now that she is roused, as she needs correction (Jr 2:17, 19), and can appreciate and safely bear it now, which she could not then. "The strong He'll strongly try" (1Co 10:13).
**when he spake--**rather, "because of His speaking"; at the remembrance of His tender words ...
Read full commentary →For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
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KJV Study Commentary
The phrase "indignation of the LORD" (Hebrew "qetseph YHWH") emphasizes God's holy wrath against sin. The "ban" or "herem" signifies complete devotional destruction, a concept fulfilled ultimately in Christ who became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). God's anger is not capricious emotion but righteous response to covenant violation and moral evil. The imagery of armies delivered to slaughter prefi...
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**7. watchmen--**historically, the Jewish priests, &c. (see on So 5:2); spiritually, ministers (Is 62:6; He 13:17), faithful in "smiting" (Psalm 141. 5), but (as she leaves them, {v.} 8) too harsh; or, perhaps, unfaithful; disliking her zeal wherewith she sought Jesus Christ, first, with spiritual prayer, "opening" her heart to Him, and then in charitable works "about the city"; miscalling it ...
Read full commentary →Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
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KJV Study Commentary
The graphic imagery of unburied corpses and mountains melting in blood depicts total devastation. In ancient Near Eastern culture, proper burial was essential for honor; denial of burial represented ultimate shame (Jeremiah 8:2). This apocalyptic language uses hyperbole to communicate the comprehensive nature of divine judgment. The Reformed understanding sees this as partial fulfillment in histor...
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8. She turns from the unsympathizing watchmen to humbler persons, not yet themselves knowing Him, but in the way towards it. Historically, His secret friends in the night of His withdrawal (Lu 23:27, 28). Inquirers may find ("if ye find") Jesus Christ before she who has grieved His Spirit finds Him again.
**tell--**in prayer (Jas 5:16).
**sick of love--**from an opposite cause (So 2:5) than th...
Read full commentary →And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
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KJV Study Commentary
The dissolution of the heavenly host echoes creation language in reverse—what God spoke into existence, He can un-create. The Hebrew "namaq" (dissolved/melted) suggests total disintegration. This cosmic upheaval parallels Jesus' teaching in Matthew 24:29 and Peter's description of the heavens passing away (2 Peter 3:10). The imagery of stars falling like leaves demonstrates that no created thing s...
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(4) **And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved . . .**—No prophetic picture of a “day of the Lord” was complete without this symbolism (see Isaiah 13:10-11), probably written about this period. Like the psalmist (Psalm 102:26), Isaiah contrasts the transitoriness of sun, moon, and stars, with the eternity of Jehovah. The Greek poets sing that the “life of the generations of men is as the life...
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9. Her own beauty (Eze 16:14), and lovesickness for Him, elicit now their enquiry (Mt 5:16); heretofore "other lords besides Him had dominion over them"; thus they had seen "no beauty in Him" (Is 26:13; 53:2).
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sword "bathed in heaven" indicates that judgment originates in God's throne room before manifesting on earth. Edom represents all nations hostile to God's covenant people. The "people of my curse" (Hebrew "am chermi") emphasizes divine sovereignty in election and reprobation. This exemplifies the Reformed doctrine that God actively judges wickedness, not merely permitting consequences. Edom's ...
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(5) **My sword shall be bathed in heaven . . .**—Literally, *hath drunk to the full. *The words find an echo in Deuteronomy 32:41-42, and Jeremiah 46:10. There, however, the sword is soaked, or made drunk with blood. Here it is “bathed *in heaven,” *and this seems to require a different meaning. We read in Greek poets, of the “dippings” by which steel was tempered. May not the “bathing” of Isaiah ...
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10. (1Pe 3:15).
**white and ruddy--**health and beauty. So David (equivalent to beloved), His forefather after the flesh, and type (1Sa 17:42). "The Lamb" is at once His nuptial and sacrificial name (1Pe 1:19; Re 19:7), characterized by white and red; white, His spotless manhood (Re 1:14). The Hebrew for white is properly "illuminated by the sun," white as the light" (compare Mt 17:2); red, in H...
Read full commentary →The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
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KJV Study Commentary
The sacrificial imagery inverts worship—instead of Edom offering sacrifices to God, they become the sacrifice. "Bozrah" (sheepfold) was Edom's capital, symbolizing their wealth and strength. The blood and fat language echoes Levitical sacrifices, suggesting that God's judgment is itself a holy act. This concept reaches fulfillment in Christ, the true sacrifice, and warns that those who reject His ...
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(6) **The Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah . . .**—Two cities of this name appear in history; one in the Haurân, more or less conspicuous in ecclesiastical history, and the other, of which Isaiah now speaks, in Edom. It was a strongly fortified city, and is named again and again. (Comp. Isaiah 63:1; Amos 1:12; Jeremiah 49:13; Jeremiah 49:22.) The image both of the sword and the sacrifice appears in...
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**11. head ... gold--**the Godhead of Jesus Christ, as distinguished from His heel, that is, His manhood, which was "bruised" by Satan; both together being one Christ (1Co 11:3). Also His sovereignty, as Nebuchadnezzar, the supreme king was "the head of gold" (Da 2:32-38; Col 1:18), the highest creature, compared with Him, is brass, iron, and clay. "Preciousness" (Greek, 1Pe 2:7).
**bushy--**cur...
Read full commentary →And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. unicorns: or, rhinocerots soaked: or, drunken
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KJV Study Commentary
The "unicorns" (Hebrew "re'em", wild oxen) and bulls represent powerful leaders brought low. The land "soaked with blood" (Hebrew "rivvah") indicates saturation, complete judgment. This prophetic perfect tense depicts future events as accomplished facts, demonstrating God's sovereignty over history. The agricultural land becoming blood-soaked reverses God's blessing, recalling Eden's curse where t...
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(7) **And the unicorns shall come down with them . . .**—Better, *the aurochs, *or *wild bulls ***. . .** The Hebrew, *rem, *which meets us in Deuteronomy 33:17; Psalm 22:21, has been identified with the buffalo, the antelope (*Antilope leucoryx*)*, *and by Mr. Houghton, a naturalist as well as a scholar, on the strength of Assyrian inscriptions, pointing to the land of the Khatti (Hittites) and t...
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**12. as the eyes of doves--**rather, "as doves" (Psa 68:13); bathing in "the rivers"; so combining in their "silver" feathers the whiteness of milk with the sparkling brightness of the water trickling over them (Mt 3:16). The "milk" may allude to the white around the pupil of the eye. The "waters" refer to the eye as the fountain of tears of sympathy (Eze 16:5, 6; Lu 19:41). Vivacity, purity, and...
Read full commentary →For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
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KJV Study Commentary
The "day of the LORD's vengeance" (Hebrew "yom naqam") is central to prophetic eschatology—a day when God actively intervenes to judge evil and vindicate His people. "Recompense" (shillem) implies paying what is due, emphasizing justice not arbitrary punishment. Zion's controversy represents all covenant conflicts between God's kingdom and rebellious nations. This prefigures the final day when Chr...
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(8) **The year of recompences for the controversy of Zion . . .**—The long-delayed day of retribution should come at last. This would be the outcome from the hand of Jehovah for the persistent hostility of the Edomites to the city which He had chosen.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**13. cheeks--**the seat of beauty, according to the Hebrew meaning [Gesenius]. Yet men smote and spat on them (Is 50:6).
**bed--**full, like the raised surface of the garden bed; fragrant with ointments, as beds with aromatic plants (literally, "balsam").
**sweet flowers--**rather, "terraces of aromatic herbs"--"high-raised parterres of sweet plants," in parallelism to "bed," which comes from...
Read full commentary →And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
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Burning pitch and brimstone echoes Sodom and Gomorrah's destruction (Genesis 19:24), linking Edom's judgment to paradigmatic divine wrath. The streams becoming pitch reverses God's life-giving water provision, showing how judgment removes all blessing. This imagery foreshadows hell's description as a lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 21:8). The transformation of natural elements into instruments ...
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(9, 10) **The streams thereof shall be turned into pitch . . .**—The imagery of the punishment which is to fall on Edom is suggested partly by the scenery of the Dead Sea, partly by the volcanic character of Edom itself, with its extinct craters and streams of lava. (Comp. Jeremiah 49:18.) The prophet sees the destruction, as continuing not merely in its results, but in its process, the smoke of t...
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**14. rings set with ... beryl--**Hebrew, Tarshish, so called from the city. The ancient chrysolite, gold in color (Septuagint), our topaz, one of the stones on the high priest's breastplate, also in the foundation of New Jerusalem (Re 21:19, 20; also Da 10:6). "Are as," is plainly to be supplied, see in So 5:13 a similiar ellipsis; not as Moody Stuart: "have gold rings." The hands bent in are com...
Read full commentary →It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
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KJV Study Commentary
The perpetual burning "night and day" emphasizes eternal punishment, a concept Jesus affirmed regarding hell (Mark 9:48). "Generation to generation" stresses the permanent nature of divine judgment—no restoration comes for those under God's final curse. The desolation means total uninhabitability forever, contrasting sharply with promises of land restoration for God's people. This sobering reality...
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**15. pillars--**strength and steadfastness. Contrast man's "legs" (Ec 12:3). Allusion to the temple (1Ki 5:8, 9; 7:21), the "cedars" of "Lebanon" (Psa 147:10). Jesus Christ's "legs" were not broken on the cross, though the thieves' were; on them rests the weight of our salvation (Psa 75:3).
**sockets of fine gold--**His sandals, answering to the bases of the pillars; "set up from everlasting" (...
Read full commentary →But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. cormorant: or, pelican
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KJV Study Commentary
The "cormorant and bittern" (unclean birds) inhabiting ruins symbolizes defilement and desolation. The "line of confusion" and "stones of emptiness" invert creation's ordering process (Genesis 1), applying chaos measurements instead of purposeful design. The Hebrew "tohu" (confusion) and "bohu" (emptiness) are the same terms describing pre-creation chaos. This de-creation imagery shows that God's ...
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(11) **But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it . . .**—The picture of a wild, desolate region, haunted by birds and beasts that shun the abode of men, is a favourite one with Isaiah (comp. Isaiah 13:20-22; Isaiah 14:23), and is reproduced by Zephaniah (Zephaniah 2:14). Naturalists agree in translating, *The pelicans and hedgehogs; the owl, and the raven.*
**The line of confusion, and th...
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16. Literally, "His palate is sweetness, yea, all over loveliness," that is, He is the essence of these qualities.
**mouth--**so So 1:2, not the same as "lips" (So 5:13), His breath (Is 11:4; Joh 20:22). "All over," all the beauties scattered among creatures are transcendently concentrated in Him (Col 1:19; 2:9).
**my beloved--**for I love Him.
**my friend--**for He loves me (Pr 18:24). Holy...
Read full commentary →They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
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The ironic statement "they shall call...but none shall be there" emphasizes total extinction of Edom's nobility. The calling of nobles to kingship yields nothing—a kingdom without rulers shows complete political collapse. This fulfills the principle that the proud will be humbled (James 4:6). The absence of princes demonstrates that human power structures are utterly dependent on God's permission;...
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(12) **They shall call the nobles thereof . . .**—The monarchy of Edom seems to have been elective, its rulers being known, not as kings, but by the title which the English version renders by “dukes” (Genesis 36:15-43). It will be noticed that no chief in the list of dukes is the son of his predecessor. Isaiah fore tells as part of the utter collapse of Edom that there shall be neither electors no...
Read full commentary →And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls . owls: or, ostriches: Heb. daughters of the owl
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KJV Study Commentary
Thorns and nettles overtaking palaces reverses the cultivated garden ideal, recalling Eden's curse (Genesis 3:18). Dragons (jackals) and owls represent desolation and demonic associations in Scripture. The habitation becoming a dwelling for unclean creatures illustrates how sin's consequences include spiritual defilement. This imagery foreshadows Babylon's fall in Revelation 18:2, where demons inh...
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(13) **An habitation of dragons, and a court for owls . . .**—The wild creatures named are identified, as elsewhere, with *“*jackals” (“wild dogs,” Delitzsch) and “ostriches.”
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 6
So 6:1-13.
1. Historically, at Jesus Christ's crucifixion and burial, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, and others, joined with His professed disciples. By speaking of Jesus Christ, the bride does good not only to her own soul, but to others (see on So 1:4; Mal 3:16; Mt 5:14-16). Compare the hypocritical use of similar words (Mt 2:8).
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. The wilddesert: Heb. Ziim the wildisland: Heb. Ijim screech: or, night monster
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KJV Study Commentary
The "wild beasts" and "satyr" (Hebrew "sa'ir", possibly demons or wild goats) meeting suggests demonic activity in desolate places. The "screech owl" (Hebrew "lilit", possibly Lilith, a night demon in ancient Near Eastern mythology) finding rest indicates spiritual darkness filling the void left by God's judgment. While not affirming pagan mythology, Isaiah uses culturally understood imagery to co...
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(14) **The wild beasts of the desert . . .**—Better, *wild cats *or *hyenas shall meet wolves. *The nouns that follow belong, apparently, to the region of mythical zoology. The English “satyr” expresses fairly enough the idea of a “demon-brute” haunting the waste places of the palaces of Edom, while the “screech-owl” is the *Lilith, *the she-vampire, who appears in the legends of the Talmud as hav...
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**2. gone down--**Jerusalem was on a hill (answering to its moral elevation), and the gardens were at a little distance in the valleys below.
**beds of spices--**(balsam) which He Himself calls the "mountain of myrrh," &c. (So 4:6), and again (So 8:14), the resting-place of His body amidst spices, and of His soul in paradise, and now in heaven, where He stands as High Priest for ever. Nowher...
Read full commentary →There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
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KJV Study Commentary
The "great owl" making her nest and laying eggs represents creatures finding permanent habitation in ruins. The Hebrew "qippoz" (possibly arrow snake) suggests dangerous creatures breeding undisturbed. "Vultures" gathering indicates ongoing death and decay. This comprehensive picture of desolation shows that once-thriving civilization becomes the domain of predators and scavengers. The irony is st...
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(15) **The great owl . . .**—Better, *the arrow snake.*
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
3. In speaking of Jesus Christ to others, she regains her own assurance. Literally, "I am for my beloved ... for me." Reverse order from So 2:16. She now, after the season of darkness, grounds her convictions on His love towards her, more than on hers towards Him (De 33:3). There, it was the young believer concluding that she was His, from the sensible assurance that He was hers.
Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
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KJV Study Commentary
The command to "seek...out of the book of the LORD" emphasizes Scripture's authority and reliability in prophecy. "No one of these shall fail" declares the absolute certainty of God's word—every prophesied detail will occur. The phrase "his mouth hath commanded" points to divine authorship, while "his spirit hath gathered them" shows the Holy Spirit's role in fulfilling prophecy. This self-authent...
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(16) **Seek ye out of the book of the Lord . . .**—The phrase is an exceptional one. Isaiah applies that title either to this particular section, or to the volume of his collected writings. When the time of the fulfilment comes, men are invited to compare what they shall then find with the picture which Isaiah had drawn. Keith and others have brought together from the descriptions of modern travel...
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**4. Tirzah--**meaning "pleasant" (He 13:21); "well-pleasing" (Mt 5:14); the royal city of one of the old Canaanite kings (Jos 12:24); and after the revolt of Israel, the royal city of its kings, before Omri founded Samaria (1Ki 16:8, 15). No ground for assigning a later date than the time of Solomon to the Song, as Tirzah was even in his time the capital of the north (Israel), as Jerusalem was of...
Read full commentary →And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
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God casting the lot and measuring with His hand demonstrates divine sovereignty in judgment—nothing is random or arbitrary. The "perpetual possession" and dwelling "from generation to generation" emphasizes eternal judgment. This ironic inheritance contrasts with Israel's promised land; Edom's "inheritance" is permanent desolation. The language of lot-casting recalls Joshua's land distribution, bu...
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(17) **He hath cast the lot for them . . .***—i.e., *hath allotted, or assigned it as by a formal deed of transfer, *to *the savage beasts who are to be its future possessors. The thought is the same as that of Acts 17:26. God is represented as the Supreme Ruler assigning to each nation its place in the world’s history, its seasons of prosperity and judgment.
**Ellicott's Commentary for English Re...
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5. (So 4:9; Ge 32:28; Ex 32:9-14; Ho 12:4). This is the way "the army" (So 6:4) "overcomes" not only enemies, but Jesus Christ Himself, with eyes fixed on Him (Psa 25:15; Mt 11:12). Historically, So 6:3-5, represent the restoration of Jesus Christ to His Church at the resurrection; His sending her forth as an army, with new powers (Mr 16:15-18, 20); His rehearsing the same instructions (see on So ...
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