The year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion "The year of recompense to the defender of the cause of Zion" - As from דון dun , דין din , a judge; so from רוב rub , ריב rib , an advocate, or defender; Judici Sionis: Syriac. read more
The cormorant - קאת kaath , the pelican, from the root קיא ki , to vomit, because it is said she swallows shell-fish, and when the heat of her stomach has killed the fish, she vomits the shells, takes out the dead fish, and eats them. The bittern - קפד kippod , the hedge-hog, or porcupine. The owl - ינשוף yanshoph , the bittern, from נשף nashaph , to blow, because of the blowing noise it makes, almost like the lowing of an ox. My old MS. Bible renders the words... read more
And thorns shall come up in her palaces - בארמנותיה ועלו vealu bearmenotheyha ; so read all the ancient versions. A court for owls - יענה yaanah , the ostrich, from ענה anah , to cry, because of the noise it makes. "They roar, "says Dr. Shaw, "sometimes like a lion - sometimes like a bull. I have often heard them groan as if in the utmost distress." read more
The weld beasts of the desert - ציים tsiyim , the mountain cats. - Bochart. Wild beasts of the island - איים aiyim , the jackals. The satyr - שעיר seir , the hairy one, probably the he-goat. The screech owl - לילית lilith , the night-bird, the night-raven, nyctycorax, from ליל layil , or לילה lailah , the night. read more
The great owl - קפוז kippoz , the ακοντιας , or darter, a serpent so called because of its suddenly leaping up or darting on its prey. Probably the mongoose or ichneumon may be intended. The vultures - דיות daiyoth , the black vultures. My old MS. Bible renders these names curiously: And ageyn cumen schul devylis: the beste, party of an asse, and party of a mam: and the wodwose, the tother schal crien to the tother. There schal byn lamya, that is, thrisse, or a beste, havynge... read more
My mouth "For the mouth of Jehovah" - For הוא hu , five MSS., (three ancient), read יהוה Jehovah , and another is so corrected; so likewise the Septuagint. Two editions have צום tsivam ; and so the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Arabic, with the edition of 1486, and a MS. has קבצם kebatsam , with the masculine pronoun instead of the feminine: and so in the next verses it is להם lahem , instead of להן lahen , in fourteen MSS., six of them ancient. - L. To see the importance... read more
The terrors of the Lord not to be held back by the preacher, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord," says the great apostle of the Gentiles, "we persuade men. There is m these modern times a sickly sentimentality prevalent, which protests against the employment by preachers of arguments that address themselves to the fears of their hearers. Delicate nerves are not to be hurt by disagreeable images, or highly wrought descriptions of sufferings. Ears accustomed to flatteries are not to be... read more
The Divine indignation. The strong, pictorial language of the prophet brings into bold relief some truths respecting God's indignation of which it is needful to be occasionally reminded. We learn— I. THAT IT IS A CONSTANT FACTOR IN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD . "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people; let the earth hear, and all that is therein … for the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations ," etc. ( Isaiah 34:1 , Isaiah 34:2 ). It is... read more
SECTION 11. THE DIVINE JUDGMENT ON THE WORLD , AND THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH CONSEQUENT UPON IT ( Isaiah 34:1-17 ; Isaiah 35:1-10 .). read more
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John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Isaiah 34:16
Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read ,.... Joseph Kimchi interprets this of the book of the law of Moses; which being consulted, it will appear that punishment was threatened to be inflicted on the enemies of God's people, particularly the Edomites. Jarchi thinks the book of Genesis is intended; in which we may read how every creature, with its mate, at the time of the flood, was gathered to Noah in the ark. Aben Ezra supposes the book of God's decrees is meant; in which, could it... read more