The Meaning of Isaiah 34:2 Explained

Isaiah 34:2

KJV: For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

YLT: For wrath is to Jehovah against all the nations, And fury against all their host, He hath devoted them to destruction, He hath given them to slaughter.

Darby: For the wrath of Jehovah is against all the nations, and his fury against all their armies: he hath devoted them to destruction, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

ASV: For Jehovah hath indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the indignation  of the LORD  [is] upon all nations,  and [his] fury  upon all their armies:  he hath utterly destroyed  them, he hath delivered  them to the slaughter. 

What does Isaiah 34:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The first reason (cf. Isaiah 34:5-6; Isaiah 34:8) everyone should listen is that the Lord is very angry with the nations. He has determined to devote them to destruction, to put them under the ban (Heb. herem; cf. Isaiah 11:15; Joshua 6:21; 1 Samuel 15:3).
"In the Hebrew setting at least two implications [1] are significant: spoils are devoted to God to show that God alone has won a battle (Jericho); when a nation has deliberately blocked the flow of God"s love to the world, it forfeits itself into God"s hands (Amalek)." [2]
What humankind must hear, then, is a sentence of judgment on the whole earth (cf. Psalm 2:9).

Context Summary

Isaiah 34:1-17 - Reaping The Whirlwind
This chapter is one prolonged description of the judgments which were to befall the nations at the hand of Assyria and Babylon. The imagery employed is borrowed from the destruction of the cities of the plain. Streams of pitch; dust of brimstone; the ever-ascending smoke of a furnace; the scream of the eagle, hawk, and owl; the invasion of palaces by the thistle; the howl of the wolf; the call of the jackal; the arrow-snakes nest; the kite with its mate-such are the illustrations employed to depict the scorching desolations which were impending. Edom is especially mentioned as suffering these awful desolations because of her long-standing hatred of Israel. See Psalms 137:7; Ezekiel 36:5; Lamentations 4:21-22. These terrible and graphic predictions have been literally fulfilled, but they foreshadow those further and eternal disasters which must overtake willful and designed rejection of the divine purposes and laws. Are not all nations at this hour standing before the Son of man and being judged? See Matthew 25:31. [source]

Chapter Summary: Isaiah 34

1  The judgments wherewith God revenges his church
11  The desolation of her enemies
16  The certainty of the prophecy

What do the individual words in Isaiah 34:2 mean?

For the indignation [is] of Yahweh against all nations and [His] fury their armies He has utterly destroyed them He has given them over to the slaughter
כִּ֣י קֶ֤צֶף לַֽיהוָה֙ עַל־ כָּל־ הַגּוֹיִ֔ם וְחֵמָ֖ה צְבָאָ֑ם הֶחֱרִימָ֖ם נְתָנָ֥ם לַטָּֽבַח

קֶ֤צֶף  the  indignation  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: קֶצֶף 
Sense: wrath, anger.
לַֽיהוָה֙  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עַל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַגּוֹיִ֔ם  nations 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
וְחֵמָ֖ה  and  [His]  fury 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: חֵמָא 
Sense: heat, rage, hot displeasure, indignation, anger, wrath, poison, bottles.
צְבָאָ֑ם  their  armies 
Parse: Noun, common singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: צָבָא 
Sense: that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.
הֶחֱרִימָ֖ם  He  has  utterly  destroyed  them 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: חָרַם 
Sense: to ban, devote, destroy utterly, completely destroy, dedicate for destruction, exterminate.
נְתָנָ֥ם  He  has  given  them  over 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לַטָּֽבַח  to  the  slaughter 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: טֶבַח 
Sense: slaughter, slaughtering, animal.