Isaiah 24:6

Isa 24:6 Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.

Ver. 6. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth.] The Chaldee and Vatablus render it the perjury - viz., in transgressing the laws, &c., which they had covenanted and sworn to observe; see Psa 119:106. That dreadful curse of the Jews {Mat 27:25} is come upon them to the utmost, devouring their land and desolating the inhabitants thereof. Though the curse causeless come not, yet God sometimes saith Amen to other men’s curses, as he did to Jotham’s upon the Shechemites. {Jdg 9:57} How much more to men’s cursing themselves?

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24:6 The effect of sin is so great that no earthly thing or action can adequately atone for it. Hope ultimately lies in God himself. God has reconciled the world to himself in Christ (Col 1:19-20).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Written in the Law, as Lev. 26:14; Deut. 28:16, thus the Prophets used to apply particularly the menaces and promises, which are general in the Law.

With heat and drought, or else that they were consumed with the fire of God’s wrath.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

earth--the land.

burned--namely, with the consuming wrath of heaven: either internally, as in Job 30:30 [ROSENMULLER]; or externally, the prophet has before his eyes the people being consumed with the withering dryness of their doomed land (so Joe 1:10, Joe 1:12), [MAURER].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 6. Are burned - "Are destroyed"] For חרו charu, read חרבו charebu. See the Septuagint, Syriac, Chaldee, and Symmachus.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(6) Therefore hath the curse . . .—The definite article may be either generic, the curse which always follows on evil-doing, or, more specifically, the curse of the Book of the Covenant, as in Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28. The curse is personified as a beast of prey or a consuming fire, ready to devour. (Comp. Gen_4:7; Gen_4:11.)

They that dwell therein are desolate.—Better, bear their punishment, or are dealt with as guilty.

Are burned.—The word determines, perhaps, the sense of the word “devour” in the previous clause. The curse, the symbol of the wrath of Jehovah, is the consuming fire that burns.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6. hath the (or a) curse devoured the earth] Cf. Zec_5:3.

are desolate] Render with R.V., are found guilty.

the inhabitants of the earth are burned] or burn under the curse, which is the expression of the Divine wrath. The verb (ḥârar) means “to glow” (Eze_24:11) or “be parched” (Job_30:30), not “be burned up.”

few men left] Desolating and protracted wars have reduced the population of all countries; but the process of extermination is not yet at an end (see Isa_24:13).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth,.... The inhabitants of it, and the fruits upon it, alluding to the earth being cursed for the sin of man, when it brought forth briers and thorns; this may denote the seven vials of God's wrath poured upon the earth, or the antichristian states. Some, by the curse, understand perjury or false swearing; so the Targum,

"therefore, because of perjury (or a false oath) the earth is become a desert;''

of which popes, and Popish princes, cardinals, priests, Jesuits, &c. have been notoriously guilty:

and they that dwell therein are desolate: for want of houses, cities and towns being destroyed by war; or through famine, for want of provisions, the earth being cursed for their sins: or the words may be rendered, "for they that dwell therein are guilty" (s); of idolatry, bloodshed, perjury, thefts, sorcery, and all other abominations, Rev 9:20,

therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned; their cities burnt with fire, and particularly the city of Rome; or their persons, their bodies burnt with burning fevers, and pestilential diseases; and their minds with envy, fury, and madness: this may be the same with the fourth vial poured upon the sun, when men will be scorched with fire and great heat, and blaspheme, Rev 16:8. The Vulgate Latin version here renders it, "shall be mad"; through the wrath of God poured out upon them:

and few men left; but what shall be consumed by fire or sword, by famine or pestilence, or by one or other of the vials; and those that remain shall be frightened, and give glory to the God of heavens Rev 11:13.

(s) Sept. "peccabunt", V. L. "quia deliquerunt", Tigurine version; "rei aguntur, sive luunt", Cocceius.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Therefore hath the curse devoured - Eaten it up; a figurative expression that is common in the Scriptures, denoting that the desolation is widespread and ruinous.

Are burned - (חרוּ chârû). Instead of this reading, Lowth proposes to read: חרבוּ chârebû ‘Are destroyed.’ The Septuagint reads it, ‘Therefore the inhabitants of the land shall be poor.’ The Syriac, ‘The inhabitants of the land shall be slain.’ But there is no authority from the manuscripts to change the text as proposed by Lowth, Nor is it necessary. The prophet does not mean that the inhabitants of the land were consumed by fire. The expression is evidently figurative. He is speaking of the effect of wrath or the curse, and that effect is often described in the Scriptures as burning, or consuming, as a fire does. The sense is, that the inhabitants of the land are brought under the withering, burning, consuming effect of that wrath; and the same effects are produced by it as are seen when a fire runs over a field or a forest. Hence, the word here used (חרה chârâh, “to burn, to be kindled”) is often used in connection with wrath, to denote burning or raging anger. Exo 22:23 : ‘His anger burns.’ Gen 30:2 : ‘And the anger of Jacob was kindled against Rachel; Gen 44:18; Job 27:2-3; Job 42:7; Gen 31:6 : ‘His anger was kindled.’ Psa 37:1, Psa 37:7-8; Pro 24:19 Compare Job 30:30 :

My skin is black upon me,

And my bones are burnt with heat.

The sense is, that the inhabitants of the land were wasted away under the wrath of God, so that few were left; as the trees of the forest are destroyed before a raging fire.

And few men are left - This was literally true after the invasion of the land by the Chaldeans 2Ki 24:14-16.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Sin. Towards the end of the world iniquity will abound, and men shall rage against each other, Matthew xxiv. (Worthington) --- They will also feel the effects of sin. --- Mad: abandoned to their passions, (Deuteronomy xxviii. 28.) excepting only the elect. (Menochius) --- Few. The Chaldeans permitted only a few of the poorest sort to remain, 2 Paralipomenon xxix. 10.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The curse; the curse of God threatened to transgressors, Deu 28:15; 29:20, and imprecated by and upon themselves, if they should not persist in their obedience to God, Deu 27:26, and elsewhere.

Are burned; are consumed by the wrath of God, which is commonly compared to fire.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

6. Therefore hath the curse — The prophecy moves on from sin to punishment. The curses denounced (see Deuteronomy xxvii and xxviii) fall upon transgressors. If the term earth covers the land of Israel and more, the law covers commands revealed and commands of conscience; it is alike the law written and unwritten.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The curse; rather, a curse. God has pronounced a curse upon the earth on account of man"s perversity; and hence the calamities which the earth is about to suffer. Are desolate; rather, are held as guilty. (see Zec_11:5; and compare the marginal rendering of Psa_5:10 Psa_34:21) Are burned; or, scorched shriveled up by the "burning anger" (Isa_30:27) and "fiery indignation" (Heb_10:27) of Jehovah.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The curse - The curse of God threatened to transgressors. Burned - Are consumed by the wrath of God, which is commonly compared to fire.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

“Therefore a curse devoured the earth, and those dwelling in it were reckoned guilty (and so treated). Therefore the inhabitants of the earth burned, and there are few men left.”

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Prophecies of Isaiah (1846–1847; New York: Scribner, 1870–1878) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Isaiah continues to describe a time in the future when God will judge the earth. Prophets sometimes describe a future event as something in the past or in the present. This emphasizes the event certainly will happen. (See: Predictive Past)

a curse devours the earth

Yahweh cursing the earth and destroying it is spoken of as if a curse were either a wild animal that completely eats the earth or a fire that completely burns up the earth. (See: Metaphor)

its inhabitants are found guilty

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh will declare that the people are guilty" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

curse

devour

guilt

wine

vine

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Therefore, an oath For the sin of vain oaths. ([Manuscripts read:] Because of the sin of false oaths.)

were dried up (חָרוּ) an expression of dryness and thirst through the heat of dryness. Comp. (Jer. 6: 29) “The bellows are dried (נִחַר).”

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

באלה ═ אלה By a curse; comp. בששת ═ ששת, in sin (Ex. 20:11); according to others, the preposition תחת, for, is to be supplied; comp. פ׳ שפ׳ ונ׳ תחת ═ ונשלמה פרים שפתינו. And let us bring our lips (that is, the words of our lips, our prayer) instead of bulls (Hos. 14:2).

חרו They are burned. Comp. וחרה, and may be burnt (Ez. xxiv. II).

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.