341 Draw near , O nations , to hear ; and listen , O peoples ! Let the earth and all it contains hear , and the world and all that springs from it. 2 For the Lord'S indignation is against all the nations , And His wrath against all their armies ; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter . 3 So their slain will be thrown out, And their corpses will give off their stench , And the mountains will be drenched with their blood . 4 And all the host of heaven will wear away , And the sky will be rolled up like a scroll ; All their hosts will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine , Or as one withers from the fig tree . 5 For My sword is satiated in heaven , Behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom And upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction . 6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood , It is sated with fat , with the blood of lambs and goats , With the fat of the kidneys of rams . For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah And a great slaughter in the land of Edom . 7 Wild oxen will also fall with them And young bulls with strong ones ; Thus their land will be soaked with blood , And their dust become greasy with fat . 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance , A year of recompense for the cause of Zion .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 34:1-8
Commentary on Isaiah 34:1-8
(Read Isaiah 34:1-8)
Here is a prophecy of the wars of the Lord, all which are both righteous and successful. All nations are concerned. And as they have all had the benefit of his patience, so all must expect to feel his resentment. The description of bloodshed suggests tremendous ideas of the Divine judgments. Idumea here denotes the nations at enmity with the church; also the kingdom of antichrist. Our thoughts cannot reach the horrors of that awful season, to those found opposing the church of Christ. There is a time fixed in the Divine counsels for the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of her enemies. We must patiently wait till then, and judge nothing before the time. Through Christ, mercy is exercised to every believer, consistently with justice, and his name is glorified.