What does Isaiah chapter 34 verse 13-15 mean?

Answer 1

AnswerThis passage was written in Babylon shortly after the Persian conquest of Babylon. It is part of an extensive addition to the original Book of Isaiah, by an anonymous author, now known as Second Isaiah or just II Isaiah.

The king of Babylon had hoped to ascend to heaven on his death, and sit among the stars, a fate reserved only for the most worthy in the ancient Near East. This explains the king being referred to contemptuously as "Lucifer", or "morning star". So, verse 14 summarises what the hated king had claimed for his afterlife: that he would live above the clouds, like the Supreme God.

The early Christians misinterpreted this passage, believing it to be about the devil, and that Lucifer was intended to be another name for the devil. On this interpretation, which has never been accepted by the Jews, there is no obvious explanation for Isaiah 14:14.

Answer 2

In the chapter preceding the verse, Israel's position as a special creation of God and His great affection for it is stressed. God promises a new start for Israel. In verse 2, God is continuing to reaffim to the Israelites that He is the one who created them, and who will continue to assist them. God speaks to them in terms of a loving father and uses diminutive terms of endearment towards His people.

Answer 3

Isaiah 42:1-4 is one of the Servant Songs in Isaiah, in which God promises to choose a servant who will teach his true way to the nations. In some verses, the servant appears to be a person, in others a group, in some a real figure and in others imaginary. The only time the 'servant' is named, the reference is to Israel or the Jewish people.

In this passage, the Servant is God's agent of justice, calm in bringing judgement to the Gentiles, but not one to be discouraged. Verses 1-4 are an integral part of chapter 42 and need to be read as such. Verse 42:7 talks about the prisoners (Jews in Exile) who will be released and the next verses talk triumphantly of the great events that will follow. In 42:19, he reminds us that he is still writing of the servant and in verse 42:22, he says, again, this is a people robbed and spoiled, snared in holes and hidden in prison houses. Then, verses 42:23-25 are a call to action.

This chapter reflects the growing confidence of the Jews as they are to be allowed to return from the Babylonian Exile, to recover their lost lands and property from the Gentile usurpers, not by proclamation or force but by calm judgement, and with the backing of the Persians. They are prisoners now, snared in holes, but will not be discouraged, and will return victorious.

Additionally, Matthew 12:16-21 quotes Isaiah 42:1-5, saying plainly that it is a prophecy fulfilled in Jesus. This was placing a whole new meaning on an ancient text.

Answer 4

Isaiah 4:3 can only be understood when read in conjunction with chapter 3. The early chapters of the Book of Isaiah were written only a few decades after the fall of Israel in 722 BCE, and Judah was dealing with a huge influx of refugees from the north.

In Chapter 3, Isaiah complains about the decline in values and respect for the elders of Jerusalem. The women rule over the children, who 'oppress' their fathers. The women make themselves look beautiful and walk around with wanton eyes. He then says that the Lord will punish the women and take away their ornaments.

Chapter 4 then offers a future that Isaiah believes that every man in Jerusalem would want:

• In 4:1, the women will become so grateful for attention from the men they had spurned that as many as seven will take hold of one man, promising not to be a financial burden.
• Verse 2 says that Judah will be a wonderful place for the survivors from Israel.
• Verse 4:3 says that those living in Zion (Jerusalem) will be regarded as holy.
• Verse 4:4 then explains that the Lord will wash away the sins of the women and judge Jerusalem.

An alternative view is that these verses were added after the Babylonian Exile and are therefore not the work of Isaiah, son of Amoz. This does not change the meaning of the verses, but changes their relationship with chapter 3 somewhat. On this view, the Jews had suffered hardship in Babylon and would soon face new hardships as they rebuilt Jerusalem, but there will be rewards. Verse 4:3, in saying that those living in Jerusalem will be regarded as holy, is probably even more relevant in a post-Exilic context.

Answer 5

Isaiah is prophesying of the "Day of the Lord" in this chapter:

"For it is the Day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch." (verses 8-9)

[same verses; NIV]: "For the LORD has a Day of Vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause. Edom's [Esau; Turkey] streams will be turned to pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!"

The "Day of the Lord" is the time of Jesus' return to earth in wrath, when He will make war to destroy man's ability to make it anymore, and to establish His Kingdom. It's the time of the gathering of scattered Israel, the time of Jerusalem's rise from the centuries of abuse of Gentile rule... and the time of the gathering of God's church... His saints.

The Day of the Lord is the time when "GOD'S WILL WILL BE DONE ON EARTH"... and the King's decrees and laws will be enforced on earth.

"...We give thanks, O Lord God Almighty... because thou hast taken unto thee thy Great Power, and hast reigned." (Rev.11:17)

Matthew Henry says of this passage:

"Those who aim to ruin the church, can never do that, but will ruin themselves. What dismal changes sin can make! It turns a fruitful land into barrenness, a crowded city into a wilderness. Let us compare all we discover in the book of the Lord, with the dealings of providence around us, that we may be more diligent in seeking the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

"What the mouth of the Lord has commanded, his Spirit will perform. And let us observe how the evidences of the truth continually increase, as one prophecy after another is fulfilled, until these awful scenes bring more happy days. As Israel was a figure of the Christian church, so the Edomites, their bitter enemies, represent the enemies of the kingdom of Christ. God's Jerusalem may be laid in ruins for a time, but the enemies of the church shall be desolate for ever." (Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary - Isaiah 34:v9-17)

Answer 6

A:

Isaiah 49:14-18: "But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me. Thy children shall make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth of thee. Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth."

Chapters 40-55 were not originally part of the Book of Isaiah but were written by an anonymous prophet during the Babylonian Exile more than a hundred years after the time of Isaiah, son of Amoz. We do not know who this author was, and he is therefore simply known as Second Isaiah or Deutero-Isaiah.

The preceding verse is unusually joyous, suggesting good news to follow. 'Zion' is a reference to Jerusalem or the people of Jerusalem, who said the Lord (God) had forsaken and forgotten them. But, says Second Isaiah, God could not forget his people, as a mother could not forget her child. He then tells the Jews to make haste and get ready to depart from Babylon.

"But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children." (Verse 25). Second Isaiah was announcing that the Jews were saved and will be taken away from this place.

Answer 7

A single verse can not be understood properly without knowing the context of that verse.

There were three main authors of the Book of Isaiah, now known as First Isaiah (who identifies himself in Isaiah 1:1), Second Isaiah (an anonymous author who wrote chapters 40-55 during the Babylonian Exile) and Third Isaiah. Chapter 44 was written by Second Isaiah, towards the end of the Babylonian Exile, at a time when the Persian defeat of Babylon was giving the exiled Jews new hope for a return to Judah.

In the verses leading up to Isaiah 44:2, Isaiah berates the Jews for their lack of faith in God and implies that the Babylonian Exile was God's punishment for this. 44:2 personifies the Jews in their legendary ancestor Jacob and the symbolic name for Israel, Jesurun. This verse leads into the expectation that begins in the following verses, that God will once again help the Israelites.