Matthew Henry’s Modern English CommentaryIsaiah 34

Threatenings against God's EnemiesThis chapter is a prophecy about God's righteous judgment on the nations who fight against Him and His people. God’s judgment is always fair and will succeed. Even though God made the world and does good to it, He also fights against those who are against Him, especially those who follow evil and hurt His people.v. 1: God calls all nations and people to listen. He is about to announce judgment, and everyone should pay attention because all are involved. God’s anger is against all who ignore Him. The whole earth is called to hear, because God is the Creator and Judge (Psalm 24:1; Micah 6:2 ).

v. 2: God’s anger is especially against the armies of the nations. They have joined together against God and His people, and now He will punish them. They trusted in their strength to fight against God, but now God will show them that no army can stand before Him.

v. 3: Those who are judged will not even be buried with honor. Their slain shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases. People will be disgusted by what they see and smell, and the land will be full of death and decay. This shows how serious sin is and how terrible God’s judgment can be.

v. 4: The judgment will bring chaos like the end of the world. All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. The sun, moon, and stars will lose their light. Everything beautiful and powerful in this world will fade away. This is a warning of the final day when God will judge the whole world (Revelation 6:12-13; 2 Peter 3:10 ).

v. 5: God’s sword, sharpened and prepared in heaven, will come down on the people He has cursed. It shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. No one can escape God’s decision when He chooses to punish.

v. 6: There will be a great slaughter, like a sacrifice to God’s justice. The sword of the Lord

v. 7: Even the strongest and most important people, called “unicorns” and “bulls,” will fall together with the common people. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. No one is too great to escape God’s judgment.

v. 8: This is the day when God will take revenge for what was done to Zion, His holy city. It is the day of the Lord

Threatenings against God's EnemiesThis prophecy describes the complete destruction that comes to those who are enemies of God and His people. It shows how lands and cities that were once prosperous can be ruined because of sin. It also reminds us that the final judgment of the wicked will be even more terrible, with everything reserved for fire on the last day (2 Peter 3:7 ). In the end, those who try to destroy God’s people will only destroy themselves.v. 9: The land will become like Sodom after God judged it. The streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust into brimstone, and the land shall become burning pitch. The ground will burn and smoke day and night, and the fire will never go out. This shows how serious God’s wrath is.

v. 10: The destruction will be so complete that no one will want to pass through the land. The smoke will rise forever, and the land will be left empty for generation after generation. The punishment will not end as long as people continue to sin and reject God.

v. 11: The city of Bozrah will become a place of confusion and emptiness. He shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. What was once beautiful and organized will become like the formless earth at creation (Genesis 1:2 ). Sin turns order into chaos.

v. 12: The leaders and nobles will be gone. No one will stand up to save the land or take charge. All the princes will disappear and nothing will be left of their power or honor.

v. 13: The palaces and strong buildings will be overgrown with thorns and nettles. Even the best places will be deserted and full of weeds, showing that God’s curse has come on the land (Genesis 3:18 ).

v. 14: Wild animals and birds will live in the ruined cities. Animals that like lonely, empty places will make their homes there. What used to be full of people and life will become a place for owls, ostriches, and other wild animals.

v. 15: Birds of prey and other creatures will build their nests in the ruins. There will be so many of them that each one will find a mate and keep their kind alive in what was once a great city.

v. 16: God tells the people to read His book and see that everything He said will happen exactly as He promised. Not one word of God's prophecy will fail. Every animal and bird mentioned will find its place in the ruined land, just as God said.

v. 17: God Himself has planned and decided this destruction. He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it unto them by line(Isaiah 34:17 ). The land will stay empty and wild forever, as a warning to all who oppose God. The curse is permanent for the enemies of God’s people.