Chapter 34

1 The judgments wherewith God revengeth his church. 11 The desolation of her enemies. 16 The certainty of the prophecy.

1. Let the earth hear. The message of ch. 34 is not for Judah alone, but for all nations and for all time. Isaiah here describes the sad and terrible fate of the wicked, both in his own day and at the end of time. He beholds the great day of slaughter, when the wicked perish and their corpses are scattered about like those of Sennacherib’s army after the visit of the destroying angel of the Lord (ch. 37:36). In the destruction of the Assyrian army he sees promise of the fate of all the hosts of evil that fight against God. Idumea, or Edom (v. 5), is selected as the typical representative of the enemies of right because Edom often proved to be the most cruel and heartless of the enemies of Judah (see 2 Chron. 28:17; Eze. 35; Amos 1:11; Obadia).

2. Indignation. See on ch. 26:20.

All their armies. As God’s indignation was upon the Assyrian armies that attacked Jerusalem, so also would it be upon all forces of evil that array themselves against His people. Compare Joel 3:2; Zech. 12:2–9; 14:2, 3; Rev. 16:14, 16; 17:14; 19:11–19.

Utterly destroyed them. Heb. charam, “to devote to destruction,” “to doom” (see on 1 Sam. 15:3).

3. Their stink. That is, of dead enemy warriors. When God destroyed the forces of Sennacherib the corpses of the slain were strewn over the ground like refuse (see Isa. 66:16; Jer. 25:33; Eze. 39:11–20; Rev. 19:17–21).

Shall be melted. Or, “shall become liquid,” or “shall flow” (see Rev. 14:20).

4. The host of heaven. That is, the sun, moon, and stars (see 2 Kings 21:3; 23:5; Jer. 8:2; 33:22; etc.). Instead of “all the host of heaven shall be dissolved,” Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads, “The depths shall be split open, and all the host of heaven shall wither away.”

Dissolved. For comment on this expression see on Isa. 13:10, 13; 24:23; Heb. 1:10–14.

Rolled together. Reference is here made to the atmospheric heavens (see on 2 Peter 3:7, 10–12; Rev. 6:14; cf. Isa. 24:19, 20; Jer. 4:23, 28).

Fall down. See on Matt. 24:29; Rev. 6:13.

5. My sword. The sword of the Lord symbolizes His judgments upon the wicked. Compare Deut. 32:41, 42; Jer. 46:10; Rev. 19:13, 15, 21.

Idumea. Or, Edom (see on Eze. 35:15). Often all the enemies of God’s people are typified by some one nation whose hatred and cruelty had been particularly bitter. Nations thus singled out were Egypt, Babylon, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. Closely related to the Jews, the Edomites always manifested a particular spite against them (see on Isa. 34:1). At the time of an Assyrian invasion Edom had possibly joined the Assyrian and had vented its wrath upon Judah, and thus the name of Edom is here associated with that of Assyria in Isaiah’s pronouncements of doom. For divine judgments on Edom as symbolic of the great day of God, see on ch. 63:1–6.

6. A sacrifice in Bozrah. Bozrah was an important city of Edom (Isa. 63:1; cf. Gen. 36:33; 1 Chron. 1:44) 24 mi. (38.5 km.) south by east from the Dead Sea. Amos foretold the destruction of its palaces (Amos 1:12), and Jeremiah declared that it would become a desolation and a reproach (Jer 49:13, 22). The lambs, goats, and rams represent the people of Edom, who will be devoted to slaughter like animals at the time of sacrifice. Jeremiah uses a similar figure of speech (Jer. 46:10).

7. Unicorns. Heb. reХemim, “wild oxen” (see on Num. 23:22). The various oxen of this verse represent the strong nations of earth, which would accompany the weaker nations, the lambs, goats, and rams of v. 6, to the place of sacrifice.

8. The controversy. Literally, “the case,” in a legal sense. The nations are here represented as participants in the great contest between good and evil, arrayed with Satan against Zion, the city of God. Compare Zech. 3:1, 2. The seemingly long-delayed hour of retribution is pictured, wherein “Edom” (see on Isa. 34:5, 6) will be punished for its persistent hostility against God’s chosen people (see Isa. 63:1–4; cf. Jer. 46:10). For the application of this verse to the great day of God see GC 673.

9. Brimstone. The imagery of v. 9 is based on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (see on Gen. 19:24). The region occupied by these cities probably lay at the southern end of the Dead Sea (see on Gen. 14:3). Even today liquid petroleum and bitumen are found here. When Christ returns, the entire earth will be destroyed in a great conflagration (2 Peter 3:10, 12; Rev. 20:10, 14).

10. The smoke thereof. Compare similar expressions in Rev. 14:11 and 19:3. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is set forth as an example of “the vengeance of eternal fire,” which will destroy the wicked (Jude 7). Those cities, whose destruction was “an ensample” to the “ungodly,” were consumed “into ashes” (2 Peter 2:6). All the wicked are likewise to be utterly destroyed and consumed “into smoke” (Ps. 37:20). Proud Babylon, whose smoke “rose up for ever and ever” (Rev. 19:3), will be “utterly burned with fire” (Rev. 18:8). The fires of the last day will leave the wicked “neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1, 3; cf. Ps. 37:9, 10; Obadiah 10), and as if they had never been (see Eze. 28:18, 19; Obadiah 16).

11. The cormorant. Heb. qaХath, an unidentified, unclean bird, possibly a species of owl or hawk. In Lev. 11:18 and Deut. 14:17 qaХath is translated “pelican.”

Bittern. Heb. qippod, probably the “hedgehog,” or the “porcupine.” In Zeph. 2:14 the “cormorant” and “bittern” are again mentioned together.

Confusion … emptiness. Heb. tohubohu, the same terms translated “without form” and “void” in Gen. 1:2, and meaning “chaotic” and “empty” (see on Gen. 1:2). The same vivid picture is given of the earth as it will be during the millennium (see on Isa. 24:1, 3; Rev. 20:1–3). For the word here translated “line” see on Isa. 28:17.

12. They shall call. The meaning of the Hebrew of the first clause of v. 12 is uncertain. It reads literally, “Her nobles, and not there a kingdom they shall call.”

Shall be nothing. All the leaders of Edom have fled, and the kingdom is in a chaotic state.

13. Dragons. See on ch. 13:22.

Owls. See on ch. 13:21.

14. Satyr. See on ch. 13:21. Verses 11–15 present a highly figurative description of the world in its chaotic state.

The screech owl. Heb. lilith, a word meaning “wicked demon” in Akkadian.

15. The great owl. Heb. qippoz, perhaps a small serpent. Dead Sea scroll 1QIs reads qippod, either the “hedgehog” (see on v. 11) or possibly the short-eared owl.

16. The book of the Lord. Nowhere but in the Inspired Record is there reliable information about the conditions that prevail when “the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations” (see on v. 2).

Want. Literally, “miss,” “long for,” that is, “lack.”

Ellen G. White comments

     2 GC 672; SR 428

       4 DA 780

       8 GC 673; SR 429; 5T 212