Isaiah 34:12

They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. THEY SHALL CALL THE NOBLES THEREOF TO THE KINGDOM, BUT NONE (SHALL BE) THERE - rather, As to her nobles, there shall be none there (there shall no more nobles be left) who shall declare a kingdom,' i:e., a king (Maurer); or else, 'As to her nobles, there shall be no one there whom they shall call to the kingdom (Rosenmuller). (Ch. 3:6, etc.) Idumea was at first governed by dukes (), out of them the king was chosen when the constitution became a monarchy....

12._They shall call her nobles without a kingdom. _This passage has received various interpretations, which I do not quote, because it would be tedious to refute them. One of the most probable is, “They shall call his nobles to reign, but in vain.” As if he had said, “In their wretched condition none will be found willing to rule over them, and to undertake the charge of the commonwealth.” A statement of the same kind is found elsewhere, and we have formerly (Isaiah 3:6) seen one that is almost alike; but the words do not correspond. When the Prophet speaks thus, “They shall call her nobles, and they shall not be there,” he employs, I doubt not, witty raillery to censure the pride of that nation which had been cherished by longcontinued peace and abundance. When the Edomites, therefore, out of their mountains breathed lofty pride, the Prophet declares that they shall be disgracefully

9-17 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 in 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....

THEY SHALL CALL THE NOBLES THEREOF TO THE KINGDOM - A more correct rendering of this would be, ‘As to the nobles, they shall call them, but there shall be there no kingdom.’ The idea is, that the kingdom would be desolate; there would be no people to rule. Or, there will be no nobles there who shall survive the destruction, and who can undertake the government of the state. The idea is taken from a government or constitution where the monarch is chosen from the ranks of the nobility. Idumea was formerly governed, as we have seen (see the Introduction to the chapter), by dukes or princes; and it is probable that when it became a monarchy it was a part of the constitution that the sovereign should be chosen from their ranks. The idea here is, that none would be left who could be called to the throne; or if any were left, they would be unwilling to undertake the government of a country wher...

SECTION 11. THE DIVINE JUDGMENT ON THE WORLD, AND THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH CONSEQUENT UPON IT (Isaiah 34:1; Isaiah 35:1.). EXPOSITION Isaiah 34:1 and Isaiah 35:1. are generally recognized as constituting a distinct prophecy, complete in itself, and only slightly connected with what precedes. The passage is, as Bishop Lowth observes, "an entire, regula

THEY SHALL CALL THE NOBLES THEREOF TO THE KINGDOM, BUT NONE [SHALL BE] THERE,.... They shall call them to take upon them the kingdom and government, and there shall be none to do it, or that will care to do it; or rather there will be no kingdom to take unto them. The words may be rendered either, "as for the nobles thereof, not there a kingdom shall they be called" p; or, "the nobles shall call"; or, "they shall call the nobles", and "there shall be no kingdom" q; the kingdom of the beast, as it is called, Revelation 16:10 shall be no more; and though the cardinals, who are like to nobles, may call for it, and expect it, or be called to it, yet to no purpose; this kingdom will not only be full of darkness, but utterly destroyed: AND ALL HER PRINCES SHALL BE NOTHING; shall come to nothing; the above mentioned cardinals, who are clothed and live like princes, these

CHAPTER 34 The Day of Jehovah 1. _Addressed to the world: Jews and Gentiles involved (Isaiah 34:1)_ 2. _The shaking of the earth and the heavens (Isaiah 34:2)_ 3. _The day of vengeance (Isaiah 34:9)_ This is one of the darkest Chapter s in the Bible. A worldwide judgment is described such as has never taken place in the history of the world. The indignation of the Lord is then upon all nations and upon their armies. Like chapter 33, it tells of the great judgments to come....

Edom is near to the Dead Sea, and the country is volcanic, and these facts suggest this lurid picture of judgment. Edom's rivers will be turned to pitch, its dust to brimstone, the land shall be a smoking, desolate wilderness for ever and ever. Pelican and bittern (Isaiah 14:23 *), owl and raven, shall dwell in it; it shall be reduced to utter chaos. Satyrs shall dwell in it, its rulers shall be destroyed. The palaces will be overrun with thorns and thistles, and be the dwelling-place of wild beasts and uncanny monsters. Let those who read this book verify the description for themselves, for Yahweh has allotted Edom to these creatures as their promised land, just as He allotted Canaan to the tribes of Israel. ISAIAH 34:11_ b_. CONFUSION AND EMPTINESS are the words which describe the prime

The fate of the land of Edom is next represented under two incompatible images, first that of a perpetual conflagration (Isaiah 34:9), and second that of a dreary solitude, peopled only by "doleful creatures" (Isaiah 34:11 ff.)....

AND THE STREAMS THEREOF, &C.— The prophet, whose copiousness of speaking is every where inexhausted, paints, in the most chosen figures, an image of the land and city desolated by war, wasted by fire, and devoted to eternal devastation, by the divine judgment; which should not only be deprived of its inhabitants, and left to impure beasts and birds, accustomed to dwell in desarts and desolate places, but also, by the desolation brought upon it, should be rendered _uninhabitable,_ and present the appearance of the infernal flame, like another Sodom and Gomorrah, sending forth continually black smoke and horrid smells. This is the sense of the period, as must be plain to every one. See ch. Isaiah 13:19, &c. where the desolation of Babylon is set forth in similar terms. Though Rome pagan, and the Roman powers, have already suffered great desolation from the Goths and others, yet Vi