Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Isaiah Ch. 34: “Their Slain…Shall Be Cast Out, and Their Stink Shall Come Up Out of Their Carcases”

Isaiah Ch. 34: “Their Slain…Shall Be Cast Out, and Their Stink Shall Come Up Out of Their Carcases”

Posted on December 6, 2011 by
Isaiah: The Times of Fulfillment, A Verse-by-Verse Commentary by Ivan D. Sanderson is available in print at Amazon and Deseret Book, and as an e-book in Spanish and English.
J. B. M. Dupreel, "Edom destroyed by God" (biblical-art.com)
Chapter 34 describes apocalyptic destruction preceding the Second Coming of the Lord that will befall the nations of the earth who oppose the Lord and His people. The armies of the world will be destroyed, the stink of the carcasses of the dead will rise up, and the mountains will be melted with their blood. Nations that opposed Zion and her establishment will be left without inhabitant, and none but wild animals will remain to inherit the land. An important key to understanding this chapter is to compare similar passages in Doctrine and Covenants. An essential purpose for this volume of modern scripture is to describe events that will occur in the latter days: “Wherefore, fear and tremble, O ye people, for what I the Lord have decreed in them [revelations contained in Doctrine and Covenants] shall be fulfilled.”[1]
Verse 3 describes the horror of the slaughter: “Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.” This description provides an image of an immense shedding of blood upon the earth—so much that the blood functions as an agent for erosion. Isaiah’s use of “mountains” here implies that this destruction would involve many nations.[2] The Great Isaiah Scroll renders “…the mountains shall be melted with their blood; the valleys will be split.”[3]
This horror compares with the final scenes of the Jaredite nation, described by Moroni in his translation of Ether’s record:
And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead.
And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh.
And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof.[4]
Scenes like this await the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days.
Verse 4 describes the extent of the slaughter: “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.” [5] The Hebrew word translated as “falling fig” means “unripe fruit.”[6] These similes describe the falling of individuals in a vast army.
“All the host of heaven” means “all the armies upon the earth” on the basis of context and chiastic equivalence. The same meaning for “heaven” is apparent in modern revelation: “Yea, verily I say unto you again, the time has come when the voice of the Lord is unto you: Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (emphasis added).[7] Compare Isaiah’s words in describing the advance of the Assyrians: “They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land” (emphasis added).[8]
Heaven being rolled together as a scroll is not easy for us to imagine in our temporal context; nevertheless, there are several scriptural references to it in addition to this instance in verse 4. John the Revelator, foreseeing an event in the latter days, stated: “And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.”[9] The Lord, in revelation to Joseph Smith, refers to “the curtain of heaven” being “unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up.”[10] In contrast, Mormon and Moroni both refer to the earth being rolled together as a scroll during the latter-day devastation.[11]
Verses 2 through 4 contain a chiasm:
A: (2) For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations,
B: and his fury upon all their armies:
C: he hath utterly destroyed them,
C: he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
B: (3) Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
A: (4) And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved….
“For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations” complements “all the host of heaven shall be dissolved.” Comparison of these two phrases further clarifies the meaning of “heaven” in verse 4. “His fury upon all their armies” complements “their slain also shall be cast out;” and “he hath utterly destroyed them” is equivalent to “he hath delivered them to the slaughter.” The Lord will destroy the armies of the earth.
For a continued in-depth study of this chapter, please refer to Isaiah: The Times of Fulfillment, A Verse-by-Verse Commentary by Ivan D. Sanderson, which is available at Amazon, Deseret Book, and electronically for Kindle.
[1]. Doctrine and Covenants 1:7.
[2]. See Isaiah 2:2, 14 and 2 Nephi 12:2, 14; Isaiah 11:9; 13:2, 4; 30:25 and pertinent commentary.
[3]. Parry, 2001, p. 142.
[4]. Ether 14:21 -23.
[5]. Verse 4 contains a chiasm: Host/heaven/heavens/host. Parry, 2001, p. 261.
[6]. Isaiah 34:4, footnote 4c.
[7]. Doctrine and Covenants 133:7.
[8]. Isaiah 13:5.
[9]. Revelation 6:14.
[10]. Doctrine and Covenants 88:95.
[11]. Mormon 5:23; 9:2.
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