The 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.
For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
It won’t be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
But 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.
They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
The 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.
The 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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 15 The mighty and rich shall be as well destroyed…
The mighty and rich shall be as well destroyed as the inferiors.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv7–15 Isa 34:7 And the unicorns shall come down with…
Isa 34:7 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.
Ver. 7. And the unicorns shall come down.] Monocerotes, qui interimi possunt, capi non possunt, creatures of untameahle fierceness; or rhinoceros, as the margin hath it - he meaneth the great ones.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv7–15 The unicorns, Heb. the reemim. But what kind of…
The unicorns, Heb. the reemim. But what kind of beast this is, whether that beast which is commonly called an unicorn, which seems to be but a fiction in the judgment of the learned, or a rhinoceros, or a wild ox or bull, it is needless to trouble the ordinary reader about it; and the learned may consult my Latin Synopsis upon Num 23:22 about it. It is confessed that it was a beast of great strength and fierceness; and it is certain that it is metephorically used in this place, to signify their princes and potentates.
Shall come down; shall be humbled and cast down. The LXX. and Syriac render it,
Read full note →
they shall fall down, as such beasts do when they have received a deadly blow. With them; with the lambs, and goats, and rams, last mentioned, Isa 34:6.
With fatness; with the fat of the slain sacrifices, which shall he mingled with it.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v9 This prophecy looks very black, but surely it looks…
This prophecy looks very black, but surely it looks so further than upon Edom and Bozrah. 1. It describes the melancholy changes that are often made by the divine Providence, in countries, cities, palaces, and families. Places that have flourished and been much frequented strangely go to decay. We know not where to find the places where many great towns, celebrated in history, once stood. Fruitful countries, in process of time, are turned into barrenness, and pompous populous cities into ruinous heaps. Old decayed castles look frightful, and their ruins are almost as much dreaded as ever their garrisons were. 2. It describes the destroying judgments which are the effects of God's wrath and the just punishment of those that are enemies to his people, which God will inflict when the year of the redeemed has come, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Those that aim to ruin the church can never do that, but will infallibly ruin themselves. 3. It describes the final desolation of this wicked world, which is reserved unto fire at the day of judgment, Pe2 3:7. The earth itself, when it, and all the works that are therein, shall be burnt up, will (for aught I know) be turned into a hell to all those that set their affections on earthly things. However, this prophecy shows us what will be the lot of the generation of God's curse.
I. The country shall become like the lake of Sodom, Isa 34:9, Isa 34:10. The streams thereof, that both watered the land and pleased and refreshed the inhabitants, shall now be turned into pitch, shall be congealed, shall look black, and shall move slowly, or not at all. Their floods to lazy streams of pitch shall turn; so Sir R. Blackmore. The dust thereof shall be turned into brimstone; so combustible has sin made their land that it shall take fire at the first spark of God's wrath struck upon it; and, when it has taken fire, it shall become burning pitch; the fire shall be universal, not a house, or town, on fire, but a whole country; and it shall not be in the power of any to suppress or extinguish it. It shall burn continually, burn perpetually, and shall not be quenched night nor day. The torment of those in hell, or that have a hell within them in their own consciences, is without interruption; the smoke of this fire goes up for ever. As long as there are provoking sinners on earth, from one generation to another, an increase of sinful men, to augment the fierce anger of the Lord (Num 32:14), there will be a righteous God in heaven to punish them for it. And as long as a people keep up a succession of sinners God will have a succession of plagues for them; nor will any that fall under the wrath of God be ever able to recover themselves. It will be found, how light soever men make of it, that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. If the land be doomed to destruction, none shall pass through it, but travellers will choose rather to go a great way about than come within the smell of it.
Read full note →
II. The cities shall become like old decayed houses, which, being deserted by the owners, look very frightful, being commonly possessed by beasts of prey or birds of ill omen. See how dismally the palaces of the enemy look; the description is peculiarly elegant and fine. 1. God shall mark them for ruin and destruction. He shall stretch out upon Bozrah the line of confusion with the stones or plummets of emptiness, Isa 34:11. This intimates the equity of the sentence passed upon it; it is given according to the rules of justice and the exact agreeableness of the execution with the sentence; the destruction is not wrought at random, but by line and level. The confusion and emptiness that shall overspread the face of the whole country shall be like that of the whole earth when it was Tohu and Bohu (the very words here used) - without form and void. Gen 1:2. Sin will soon turn a paradise into a chaos, and sully the beauty of the whole creation. When there is confusion there will soon be emptiness; but both are appointed by the governor of the world, and in exact proportions. 2. Their great men shall be all cut off, and none of them shall dare to appear (Isa 34:12): They shall call the nobles of the kingdom to take care of the arduous affairs which lie before them, but none shall be there to take this ruin under their hand, and all her princes, having the sad tidings brought them, shall be nothing, shall be at their wits' end, and not be able to stand them in stead, to shelter them from destruction.
III. Even the houses of state, and those of strength, shall become as wildernesses (Isa 34:13); not only grass shall grow, but thorns shall come up, in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof, and there shall be none to cut them up or tread them down. We sometimes see ruined buildings thus overgrown with rubbish. It intimates that the place shall not only be uninhabited and unfrequented where a full court used to be kept, but that it shall be under the curse of God; for thorns and thistles were the production of the curse, Gen 3:18.
IV. They shall become the residence and rendezvous of fearful frightful beasts and birds, which usually frequent such melancholy places, because there they may be undisturbed, and, when they are frightened thither, they help to frighten men thence. This circumstance of the desolation, being apt to strike a horror upon the mind, is much enlarged upon here, Isa 34:11. The cormorant shall possess it, or the pelican, which affects to be solitary (Psa 102:6); and the bittern, which makes a hideous noise, the owl, a melancholy bird, the raven, a bird of prey, invited by the dead carcases, shall dwell there (with all the ill-boding monsters of the air, Sir R. B.), all the unclean birds, which were not for the service of man, Isa 34:13. It shall be a habitation for dragons, which are poisonous and hurtful.
And in their lofty rooms of state,
Where cringing sycophants did wait,
Dragons shall hiss and hungry wolves shall howl;
In courts before by mighty lords possess'd
The serpent shall erect his speckled crest,
Or fold his circling spires to rest.
- Sir R. Blackmore
That which was a court for princes shall now be a court for owls or ostriches, Isa 34:14. The wild beasts of the desert, the dry and sandy country, shall meet, as it were by appointment, with the wild beasts of the island, the wet marshy country, and shall regale themselves with such a perfect desolation as they shall find there.
Leopards, and all the rav'ning brotherhoods
That range the plains, or lurk in woods,
Each other shall invite to come,
And make this wilder place their home.
Fierce beasts of every frightful shape and size
Shall settle here their bloody colonies.
- Sir R. Blackmore
The satyr shall cry to his fellow to go with him to this desert place, or, being there, they shall please themselves that they have found such an agreeable habitation. There shall the screech-owl rest, a night-bird and an ominous one. The great owl shall there make her nest (Isa 34:15) and lay and hatch; the breed of them shall be kept up to provide heirs for this desolate place. The vultures which feast on carcases, shall be gathered there, every one with his mate. Now observe, 1. How the places which men have deserted, and keep at a distance from, are proper receptacles for other animals, which the providence of God takes care of, and will not neglect. 2. Whom those resemble that are morose, unsociable, and unconversable, and affect a melancholy retirement; they are like these solitary creatures that take delight in desolations. 3. What a dismal change sin makes; it turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a frequented city into a wilderness.
V. Here is an assurance given of the full accomplishment of this prediction, even to the most minute circumstance of it (Isa 34:16, Isa 34:17): "Seek you out of the book of the Lord and read. When this destruction comes compare the event with the prediction, and you will find it to answer exactly." Note, The book of the prophets is the book of the Lord, and we ought to consult it and converse with it as of divine origin and authority. We must not only read it, but see out of it, search into it, turn first to one text and then to another and compare them together. Abundance of useful knowledge might thus be extracted, by a diligent search, out of the scriptures, which cannot be got by a superficial reading of them. When you have read the prediction out of the book of the Lord then observe, 1. That according to what you have read so you see; not one of these shall fail, either beast or fowl: and, it being foretold that they shall possess it from generation to generation, in order to that, that the species may be propagated, none shall want her mate; these marks of desolation shall be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the land. 2. That God's mouth having commanded this direful muster his Spirit shall gather them, as the creatures by instinct were gathered to Adam to be named and to Noah to be housed. What God's word has appointed his Spirit will effect and bring about, for no word of God shall fall to the ground. The word of God's promise shall in like manner be accomplished by the operations of the Spirit. 3. That there is an exact order and proportion observed in the accomplishment of this threatening: He has cast the lot for these birds and beasts, so that each one shall know his place as readily as if it were marked by line. See the like, Joe 2:7, Joe 2:8, They shall not break their ranks, neither shall one thrust another. The soothsayers among the heathen foretold events by the flight of birds, as if the fate of men depended on them. But here we find that the flight of birds is under the direction of the God of Israel: he has cast the lot for them. 4. That the desolation shall be perpetual: They shall possess it for ever. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins; but Jerusalem of old recovered itself out of its ruins, till it gave place to the gospel Jerusalem, which may be brought low, but shall be rebuilt, and shall continue till it give place to the heavenly Jerusalem. But the enemies of the church shall be for ever desolate, shall be punished with an everlasting destruction.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv7–15 And the unicorns shall come down with them,.... With…
And the unicorns shall come down with them,.... With the lambs, goats, and rams; that is, either the rhinoceros, as some, there being no such creature as the unicorn; or the buffaloes, as (m) others; these "shall fall", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it, they shall be slain, as well as the rest; meaning, that along with the common soldiers, and inferior officers, the general officers should fall; and so the Targum,
"and the mighty shall be slain with them.''
Read full note →
R. Abraham Seba says (n) he read in a certain book, that the word here should not be read "unicorns", but "the Romans shall come down", &c.:
and the bullocks with the bulls: or, as the Targum,
"and the rulers with the princes;''
the same with the kings, captains, and mighty men in Rev 19:18,
and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness; Or, "their land shall be inebriated" (o), or made drunk, with blood; and the dust thereof thickened by it, and made clods of with it, as the parched earth is watered with a plentiful shower, and the dust laid with it: this is a just retaliation to the whore of Rome, who has been made drunk with the blood of the saints, and now blood shall be given her to drink, even her own, with which she shall be filled, and welter and wallow in the clods of it, Rev 17:6.
(m) So Gussetius understands it of a larger sort of oxen, Comment. Ebr. p. 783. (n) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 47. 3. (o) "et inebriabitur", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv7–12 The unicorns - It is confessed, this was a…
The unicorns - It is confessed, this was a beast of great strength and fierceness; and it is used in this place to signify their princes and potentates, who shall be humbled and cast down. Them - With the lambs, and goats, and rams. Fatness - With the fat of the slain sacrifices, mingled with it.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15 Verse 7. The unicorns shall come down] ראמים reemim,…
Verse 7. The unicorns shall come down] ראמים reemim, translated wild goats by Bishop Lowth. The ראם reem Bochart thinks to be a species of wild goat in the deserts of Arabia. It seems generally to mean the rhinoceros.
With blood - "With their blood"] מדמם middamam; so two ancient MSS. of Kennicott's the Syriac, and Chaldee.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv7, 9 Isa 34:7-8. And the unicorns shall come down —…
Isa 34:7-8. And the unicorns shall come down — The word ראמים, reemim, here rendered unicorns, is the same with that used Num 23:22, where see the note. Bishop Lowth renders it here, wild goats; and Dr. Waterland, stags. But many learned men prefer the marginal reading, rhinoceros. It is impossible to determine precisely what sort of a creature is meant, but it is allowed by all that it was a beast of great strength and fierceness, and that it is here used metaphorically, together with the bullocks and bulls, for princes and potentates, which should be brought down and humbled, or should fall down, as Bishop Lowth reads it, according to the LXX. and Syriac, namely, as beasts do when they have received a deadly blow; that is, they shall be sacrificed, with the lambs, goats, and rams, the inferior people, mentioned Isa 34:6. And their land shall be soaked with blood — Hebrew, רותה, watered, as with rain coming oft upon it, and in abundance; and their dust — Their dry and barren land; made fat with fatness — With the fat of the sacrifices, namely, of the slain men, mingled with it. For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance — This is the time which God hath long since appointed and fixed to vindicate the cause of his oppressed and persecuted people against all their enemies; for the controversy of Zion — Dr. Waterland reads, for the avenging of Zion. Upon the whole, “the meaning of this period,” from Isa 34:5, “is, that on a certain day of judgment, which is elsewhere called the great day of the Lord’s vengeance, a mighty slaughter should be made of the hardened enemies of the church, (which had been a long time oppressed and afflicted by them,) with the effusion of much blood, and the destruction of many great, noble, and powerful men. The figure is taken from the master of a family, who, preparing a great feast, and a sacrifice, finds it necessary to slay many lambs, rams, and fatted animals, so that his knife may be said to be inebriated with the blood and fat of the slain.” As to the application of this prophecy, in which the Edomites are particularly mentioned, it may be observed that they, together with the rest of the neighbouring nations, were ravaged and laid waste by Nebuchadnezzar, and the general devastation spread through all these countries by him may be the event which the prophet had first in view in this chapter: but, as Bishop Lowth observes, “this event, as far as we have any account of it in history, seems by no means to come up to the terms of the prophecy, or to justify so highly wrought and so terrible a description. And it is not easy to discover what connection the extremely flourishing state of the church or people of God, described in the next chapter, could have with those events, or how it could be the consequence of them, as it is there represented to be. By a figure, very common in the prophetical writings, any city or people, remarkably distinguished as enemies of the people and kingdom of God, is put for those enemies in general. This seems here to be the case with Edom and Bozra. It seems, therefore, reasonable to suppose, with many learned expositors, that this prophecy has a further view to events still future; to some great revolutions to be effected in later times, antecedent to that more perfect state of the kingdom of God upon earth, and serving to introduce it, which the Scriptures warrant us to expect.” Vitringa is of opinion, that Papal, as well as heathen Rome, red or drunken with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus, is here meant. And he observes, that “Rome, which, in the Hebrew, signifies fortification, well answers to Bozra, which signifies a fortified city.” Is not the destruction of the anti-christian powers foretold in the xviith, xviiith, and xixth chapters of the Revelation by St. John, here intended by Isaiah? and especially the destruction in Armageddon, termed the great day of God Almighty, Rev 16:14, and that described Isa 19:17-19? Certainly these terrible destructions are to prepare the way for that millennial reign of Christ, described Revelation 20., and which seems to be intended in the next chapter of this prophecy.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv7–15 And the unicorns - Margin, ‘Rhinoceros’ (ראמים re'ēmı̂ym from…
And the unicorns - Margin, ‘Rhinoceros’ (ראמים re'ēmı̂ym from ראם re'êm). This was evidently an animal well known in Palestine, since it is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament (Num 23:22; Deu 33:17; Job 39:9-10; Psa 22:21; Psa 29:6; Psa 92:10, in all which places it is translated unicorn, or unicorn). The derivation of the word is uncertain, and it has been regarded as doubtful what animal is intended. The corresponding Arabic word denotes the oryx, a large and fierce species of the antelope. Gesenius, Schultens, De Wette, and Rosenmuller suppose that the buffalo is intended by the word. Bochart regards it as denoting the gazelle, or a species of the antelope. It can hardly, however, be regarded as so small an animal as the gazelle. The gazelle is common in the neighborhood of mount Sinai; and when Laborde passed through that region his companions killed four, ‘the father and mother, and two little animals a fortnight old.’ He says of them: ‘These creatures, which are very lively in their movements, endeavored to bite when they were caught; their hair is a brown yellow, which becomes pale and long as the animals grows old.
In appearance they resemble the Guinea pig. Their legs are of the same height, but the form of their feet is unique; instead of nails and claws, they have three toes in front and four behind, and they walk. like rabbits, on the whole length of the foot. The Arabs call it El Oueber, and know no other name for it. It lives upon the scanty herbage with which the rain in the neighborhood of springs supplies it. It does not burrow in the earth, its feet not being calculated for that purpose; but it conceals itself in the natural holes or clefts which it finds in the rocks.’ (Journey through Arabia Petrea, pp. 106, 107. Lond. 8vo. 1836.) Taylor (Heb. Con.) supposes it means the rhinoceros; a fierce animal that has a single horn on the nose, which is very strong, and which sometimes grows to the height of thirty-seven inches. The ancient versions certainly regarded the word as denoting an animal with a single horn. It denotes here, evidently, some strong, fierce, and wild animal that was horned Psa 22:21, but perhaps it is not possible to determine precisely what animal is meant. For a more full investigation in reference to the kind of animal denoted by the word reem, see the notes at Job 39:9. Here it represents that portion of the people which was strong, warlike, and hitherto unvanquished, and who regarded themselves as invincible.
Read full note →
Shall come down - Shall be subdued, humbled, destroyed.
With them - With the lambs and goats mentioned in Isa 34:6. All classes of the people shall be subdued and subjected to the slaughter.
And the bullocks with the bulls - The young bulls with the old. All shall come down together - the fierce and strong animals representing the fierce and strong people.
And their land shall be soaked with blood - Margin, ‘Drunken;’ the same word which is rendered ‘bathed’ in Isa 34:5.
Their dust made fat - Their land manured and made rich with the slain. A battlefield is usually distinguished afterward for its fertility. The field of Waterloo has thus been celebrated, since the great battle there, for producing rank and luxuriant harvests.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 The unicorns. That is, the great and mighty. (Challoner)
The unicorns. That is, the great and mighty. (Challoner)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv7–15 unicorns--Hebrew, reem: conveying the idea of loftiness, power, and…
unicorns--Hebrew, reem: conveying the idea of loftiness, power, and pre-eminence (see on Job 39:9), in the Bible. At one time the image in the term answers to a reality in nature; at another it symbolizes an abstraction. The rhinoceros was the original type. The Arab rim is two-horned: it was the oryx (the leucoryx, antelope, bold and pugnacious); but when accident or artifice deprived it of one horn, the notion of the unicorn arose. Here is meant the portion of the Edomites which was strong and warlike.
come down--rather, "fall down," slain [LOWTH].
Read full note →
with them--with the "lambs and goats," the less powerful Edomites (Isa 34:6).
bullocks . . . bulls--the young and old Edomites: all classes.
dust--ground.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv8, 11, 13, 14, 15 8-10. Day of the Lord’s vengeance — Sure as…
8-10. Day of the Lord’s vengeance — Sure as the pillars of God’s throne stand, divine judgment must overtake wrong and wrongdoers, and Zion, or the Church of God, must be vindicated and defended. The ideal of most terrific punishment is found in the terms brimstone and burning pitch; in the unquenchable fire; in the smoke forever ascending, and in the desert gloom and the impassable waste, that befall the land thus visited. These terms, used as mere figures here, are expanded into symbols in the Book of Revelation; symbols answering to the real idea of awful retributions which will fall upon sin, sinners, and all sinful agencies in the world’s last days. Emblematically the land of Edom becomes a wilderness, and, as an antagonistic kingdom, is destroyed forever.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 7. For unicorns render with R.V. wild oxen.
7. For unicorns render with R.V. wild oxen.
come down] sc. to the place of slaughter, Jer_48:15, &c.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (7) And the unicorns shall come down with them…
(7) And the unicorns shall come down with them . . .—Better, the aurochs, or wild bulls . . . The Hebrew, rem, which meets us in Deu_33:17; Psa_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 the foot of the Lebanon as its habitat, and of bas-reliefs representing it, with the Bos primigenius of zoologists (Bible Educator, ii. 24-29). Here, the fierce wild beasts stand for the chiefs of the Edomites. (Comp. Psa_22:12; Psa_22:21.) The verb, “shall come down,” as in Jer_48:15; Jer_50:27; Jer_51:40, implies going down to the shambles, or slaughtering house.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv7–15 The unicorns; Bishop Lowth renders ream by "wild goats;"…
The unicorns; Bishop Lowth renders ream by "wild goats;" Mr. Cheyne by "buffaloes." Probably the wild ox, a native of the trans-Jordanic region, is intended (see Mr. Houghton"s paper on the animals of the Assyrian bas-reliefs, in the "Transactions of the Society of Bibl. Archaeology," vol. 5. p. 336). Shall come down; rather, shall go down; i.e. shall fall and perish. (comp. Jer_1:2-7)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v8 Isa_34:8. For it is the day of the Lord’s…
THE CONTROVERSY OF ZION
Isa_34:8. For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, &c.
Read full note →
The Lord has always been mindful of His Church. He is pledged to her defence against the world, and against the world-spirit which often intrudes within her pale. Chapter 34 contains a description of the effects of the Divine vengeance in the typical case of Edom; chapter 35 describes the flourishing state of the Church consequent upon the execution of the Divine judgments.
I. There is a parallel between God’s dealings with individuals and society. Such a parallel may be presumed to exist, inasmuch as any society is made up of individuals; and God cares equally for the single and the corporate life. Taking the mass of men, evil dispositions lead to evil deeds, and these to habits, before they are turned to the service of God. God intervenes in the way of judgment; times of judgment are appointed them, foreshadowing a future day of the Lord’s vengeance.
1. Individual judgments. God’s controversy with Jacob at Peniel, when Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint, was but the climax of the Divine vengeance in respect of his sinful past, and became the turning-point of his life. Not only are bad men changed in this way, but good men are made better (Isa_38:12-14; Lam_3:3-21; Job_10:16-20; H. E. I. 56–59, 66–70, 116). God strikes, that human nature may be laid bare in its depths, and a thorough work of regeneration accomplished, proceeding from within outward. Afflictions do not always soften; but they do so often enough to form a large part of the method of the Divine vengeance.
2. Social and national judgments. Jacob became Israel, and Israel the Church of God, the representative of God on earth, even as Edom, of which Esau, the godless, was the ancestor, is regarded in Scripture as the representative of the world-power. Edom was emphatically the troubler of Israel. Its judgments—prophetic of greater in the future—were sent by the Defender of Zion—
(1.) To make manifest its sin;
(2.) To show the theocratic character of Israel.
But the Edom, or world-spirit, was in Israel herself; hence the judgments of the Church. The idea of the theocracy was interfered with when Israel wished a king, like the other nations (1Sa_8:6-7). That could only be entertained by Jehovah if kings held their right to rule direct from Himself. And so He raised up David and David’s line (1Sa_16:1-13; Gen_49:8). Hence the institution and perpetuation of the prophetic line—Samuel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, &c.—to assert and maintain the idea of the theocracy.
With a grander display of the Divine power this tale has been re-told under the Christian dispensation. Social and national crises are still brought about, in the wise judgment of God, first, to make manifest the sins of communities and nations; and, second, to direct men to the Church of Christ. In times of the Church’s unfaithfulness, apostles, truly apostolic men, reformers, &c., interfere.
II. Antagonism between the Church and the world must end in the defeat and subjugation of the world. Jehovah is the defender of the cause of Zion through the ages. He has espoused the cause of holiness against ungodliness. His people may be dispersed, but the Church does not die out. From the lowest ebb it returns to the flow. The blood of its martyrs becomes seed. Its opponents turn ever feebler. This is seen in their more spasmodic efforts. Its benign influence has extended far; ever larger numbers are being brought under its yoke. The world fights every inch of the ground; but—
III. The great day is surely coming.
1. There must come a complete manifestation of the Church’s inherent glory.
(1.) This manifestation will take place by displays of Divine vengeance on the enemies of Zion. This method of the ancient time has not become obsolete.
(2.) The manifestation will not be short-lived, but continue, so that destruction may be succeeded by a realised state of salvation.
(3.) Last of all, there shall be seen the triumph of the Church, when Church and world shall be conterminous, and fulness of blessing be enjoyed. (Chapter 35 still awaits its largest fulfilment.)
CONCLUSION.—
1. We have a Gospel of terror to preach to the world—a Gospel of terror, for the Divine vengeance is informed by the greatest heart of love. Is the Church, as some say, becoming less powerful in our time? Let the question at least provoke searchings of heart. God still sends judgments upon unfaithful Churches.
2. Remember, in times of darkness and trial, that the Lord has the deepest interest in His Church. It cannot disappear from the world; but be alive to removing from it causes of weakness.
3. Let us encourage one another in the hope of a time when the Church’s glory shall be fully manifested, when the time of recompenses for the long controversy of Zion shall arrive. Let us work in the Church so as to help to bring about the glad time coming.—J. Macrae Simcock.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv7, 8, 11, 13 will fall
will fall
"will die"
Read full note →
Their land will be drunk with blood
This describes the amount of blood that will soak into the ground by comparing the land to a drunk person. AT: "Their land will be soaked with blood" (See: Personification)
their dust made fat with fatness
Here "dust" means the dirt on the ground. This describes the amount of fat that will soak into the dirt by comparing it to a person that has become fat from eating so much animal fat. AT: "the dirt will be full of the fat of the animals" (See: Personification)
translationWords
cow
slaughter
blood
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv8–11 34:8 The Lord’s revenge refers to God’s wrathful but…
34:8 The Lord’s revenge refers to God’s wrathful but righteous vengeance against his enemies and the oppressors of his people on the day of the Lord. • Edom will be paid back: There will be retribution for Edom’s crimes against Judah (see also Ps 137:7; Lam 4:21; Obad; Mal 1:3-5). Edom, with its history of treachery, would come to an end.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.