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9. Behold the day of the Lord will come cruel. He repeats what he had slightly noticed a little before, that though the inhabitants of Babylon are now at ease, and rely on their wealth, the day of the Lord is at hand, to terrify those who are at ease.

But a question might here be raised, Why is the day of the Lord called cruel, since nothing is more desirable than to have God present with us; for his presence alone makes us truly happy? I answer, we ought always to consider who they are that are addressed by the Prophet; for it is customary with the prophets to give various descriptions of God corresponding to the diversity of the hearers. In like manner, David also declares that God is

merciful to the merciful, and cruel and severe to the ungodly. (Psalm 18:25,26.)

What could wicked men imagine to be in God but the utmost severity? And therefore the slightest mention of God fills them with terror.

The godly, on the other hand, whenever the name of God is mentioned, derive the greatest delight and joy from hearing it; so that nothing can be more highly gratifying. Thus, when the prophets address the godly, as soon as they have mentioned God, they speak of joy and gladness, because the godly will feel that he is gracious and merciful to them; but when they address the ungodly, they hold out the judgment of God, and speak of grief and mourning. As the godly are cheered by the presence of God, because by faith they behold his goodness; so the ungodly are terrified, because the testimony of their conscience reproves and convinces them that he comes as a severe Judge. Since even hypocrites pretend that they eagerly long for the day of the Lord, and boast that he will assist them, the prophets tear off from them this disguise, and show that to them the day of the Lord will be dreadful and alarming. (Amos 5:18,20.)

Isaiah applies the usual description to this prophecy, in order to show more fully how much we ought to dread the wrath of God; for, being by nature slow, or rather stupid, we would not be powerfully affected if the Lord spoke in plain terms about his judgments. Since, therefore, an unadorned style would be too cold, he contrived new modes of expression, that by means of them he might shake off our sluggishness. When he says, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it, he means by sinners not all men without distinction, but the ungodly and wicked men who inhabited Babylon.

10. For the stars of heaven. In order to strike our minds with a stronger and more distressing fear of the judgment of God, the prophets are accustomed to add to their threatenings extravagant modes of speaking, which place the anger of God, as it were, before their eyes, and affect all our senses, as if all the elements were now arising to execute his vengeance. And yet the expressions, though unusually strong, do not go beyond the dreadful nature of what took place; for it is impossible to exhibit an image of the judgment of God so alarming that the reality shall not be felt to be more revolting and terrible.

The sun, and the moon, and the stars are mentioned, because they are striking proofs of God’s fatherly kindness towards us. Hence also Christ shows that it is an eminent proof of the goodness of God that

he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good. (Matthew 5:45.)

Accordingly, when the sun and moon and stars shine in heaven, God may be said to cheer us by his bright and gracious countenance. Since therefore in the brightness of heaven God shows a cheerful and friendly countenance, as if he might be said to smile upon us, the darkness which the Prophet describes conveys the thought, that God, by hiding his face, cast the men with whom he was angry into the darkness of sorrow.

A similar description is given by the Prophet Joel.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, the moon into blood, before it comes — the day of Jehovah, great and terrible.
(Joel 2:31.)

We have already said that this mode of expression is frequently employed by the prophets, in order to inform us that everything will tend to our destruction, when God is against us. Sometimes indeed God gives tokens of his anger by means of the stars; but that is out of the usual course of events, and the darkness which the Prophet now describes will not take place till the second coming of Christ. But we ought to be satisfied with knowing that all the creatures, which by discharging their duties to us are proofs and instruments of God’s fatherly kindness, not only cease to be useful to us, when God arises to judgment, but in some measure are armed for vengeance.

11. And I will visit upon the world wickedness. Here the Prophet does not speak of the whole world; but as Babylon was the seat of the most powerful of all monarchies, he gives to it on that account the name of the world, and he does so emphatically, (ἐμφατικῶς,) for Babylon was a kind of world, because it appeared to occupy nearly the whole earth. And yet he means that there is nothing in this world so lofty that God cannot easily seize it with one of his fingers. At the same time he gives warning that God will punish the cruelty which was exercised by the Chaldeans. Yet we ought also to learn that the wickedness and crimes of Babylon are brought forward, in order to inform us that the Lord will not be cruel in punishing her so severely, because he inflicts the punishment which that people deserved on account of their transgressions and crimes. Every ground of calumny is therefore taken away, that we may not think that God delights in the afflictions of men; for when he thus deals with men according as they deserve, the mouths of all must be stopped, (Romans 3:19,) since the severity of the afflictions does not proceed from God, but finds its cause in men themselves.

And will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease. We must keep in mind what I have already noticed, that the Prophet yields no small consolation to the godly by assuring them that God, though he spares the inhabitants of Babylon for a time, will at length punish them for their injustice and cruelty. He expresses this still more clearly by taking notice of a particular vice, namely, pride, in consequence of which they loosed the reins, and gave unbounded freedom to their lawless desires to oppress the wretched. For this reason also he reproves their tyranny. But we ought also to draw from it a profitable doctrine, that it is impossible for us to escape punishment from the Lord, if we are puffed up with vain confidence and flatter ourselves. The Prophet here includes every kind of pride; whether men think that they are something, or admire their riches, and despise others in comparison of themselves. God cannot endure any arrogancy, or suffer it to pass unpunished. Seeing therefore, that among a great variety of other crimes with which Babylon abounded, this was the greatest and most remarkable, it was chiefly by their pride that the wrath of God was kindled.

And will lay low the loftiness of tyrants. Arrogance was joined, as it usually is, to violence and cruelty; and therefore he adds the loftiness of tyrants; for when men despise others, this is followed by deeds of violence and injustice and oppression; and it is impossible for men to abstain from doing harm to others, if they do not lay aside all conceit and high estimation of themselves. Let us willingly, therefore, bring down our minds to true humility, if we do not wish to be cast down and laid low to our destruction.

12. I will make a man more precious than pure gold. Here he describes in a particular manner how cruel and savage will be the war that is carried on against Babylon. In like manner believers, instructed by these predictions, implore in the spirit of prophecy what is the utmost exertion of the cruelty exercised in wars, that the Persians and Medes may tear the infants from their mothers’ breasts, and dash them against the stones. (Psalm 137:9.) The general meaning is, that Babylon will not only be destroyed, but will be devoted to utter extermination; for when he says that the life of a man shall be more precious than gold, he asserts that the enemies will be so eager to shed blood, that it will be impossible to rescue a man out of their hands at any price, because they will choose rather to kill than to accept a ransom.

It may be asked, Was this destruction as cruel as Isaiah here describes it to be? For history gives a different account, and Daniel himself, who was an eye-witness of this destruction, relates that the city was only taken, for the Medes and Persians spared the citizens and inhabitants. This argument has constrained some commentators to apply allegorically to all the reprobate what is here related of Babylon; but in doing so they have overstrained the passage, for shortly afterwards (verse. 17) the Prophet names the Medes and Persians. Besides, those threatenings which will afterwards follow in their proper order, against the Edomites, Moabites, the inhabitants of Tyre and of Egypt, and other nations, sufficiently show that the present discourse is directed literally against the Chaldeans, to whom the Prophet assigns the first rank; not that their destruction was as close at hand as that of other nations, but because none of the enemies of the Church were more dangerous.

It ought to be observed that Isaiah did not utter this prediction while the monarchy of Nineveh was still flourishing; but all that he predicted against heathen nations, during the whole course of his ministry, was collected into one book. Thus the order of events was not observed, but a similarity of subject was the reason why all these prophecies were put into one place. How comes it that Isaiah takes no notice of Nineveh, since he afterwards mentions that the Assyrians alone attacked the Jews, (for the Babylonians lived at peace with them,) but because he does not relate the history of his own time till the twenty-third chapter, but prophesies about the judgments of God which happened after his death?

Now, when he declares that Babylon will be utterly destroyed, it is certain that he does not merely describe a single calamity, but includes the destruction which followed long afterwards. After having been subdued by the Persians, Babylon continued to flourish, and held the name and rank of a very celebrated city. And although the city Ctesiphon was founded for the purpose of attracting a portion of its splendor and wealth, yet the convenience of its situation, the costly buildings, and the fortifications of the city, rendered it, with the exception of royal rank, not inferior to Persis. Even after the death of Alexander the Great, when Seleucia was built at no great distance, still it could not obliterate the name and reputation of the ancient city. Hence we conclude that those events which are here foretold cannot be limited to a single period.

It is not without reason, however, that the Prophet pronounces such fearful threatening against them, since the revolution of the empire was the forerunner of the various calamities which followed afterwards. Though the people were not entirely slain, yet as the city was taken by storm, and by a sudden assault at the hour of midnight, while the whole court was carousing in drunken revels, it was impossible but that the Medes and Persians must have slain all that came in their way. There can be no doubt, therefore, that there was a great slaughter before the conquerors extended their protection to the whole of the people as having surrendered at discretion. Who can doubt that this haughty nation was roughly handled by barbarian conquerors, for in no other way could it have been reduced to obedience?

Having been gradually weakened, not long afterwards, Babylon again changed its master, and, after having been governed for a short period by Alexander, king of Macedon, immediately passed under the dominion of Seleucus, who endeavored by every method to degrade it till it was completely ruined. Thus, so long as God permitted the city to remain in existence, it presented a shameful and revolting spectacle to the whole world, that the accomplishment of the prophecy might be more evident and more impressive. Hence the Prophet Isaiah has good reason for asserting that the anger of God will not be appeased till that den of robbers be utterly destroyed.

A mortal and a man. So far as relates to the words, some translators render אנוש (enosh) a warlike or eminent man, and אדם (adam) an ordinary man. But as the etymology does not correspond to this view, and as I do not think that it occurred to the Prophet’s mind, I consider it to be rather a repetition of the same sentiment, such as we know to have been customary among the Hebrews. The word פז, (paz,) which, in common with other translators, I have rendered pure gold, is supposed by some to mean a pearl; but from many passages of Scripture we conclude that it is the purest and finest gold

13. Therefore I will shake the heavens. This is another figure of speech which contributes in a similar manner to heighten the picture. God cannot too earnestly urge this doctrine, not only to terrify the wicked, but to afford consolation to the godly, who are often distressed when it is well with the wicked, and when everything succeeds to their wish. David acknowledges that this happened to himself; for he says,

Surely in vain have I purified my heart,
and washed any hands in innocency. (Psalm 73:13.)

Properly, therefore, are these pictures set before our eyes, that they may plainly declare to us the destruction of the wicked. Thus it is as if Isaiah had said, “Though heaven and earth be moved, that the ungodly may be shaken and destroyed, nevertheless this will take place.” They think that they are out of all danger, and that they have struck their roots so deep that they cannot be rooted out; but he shows that they are greatly deceived, for the Lord will move both heaven and earth rather than not cast them down headlong. Hence it follows that, though the world present to us a thousand supports both above and below, still there will be no permanency but through the favor of God. And if this is made known in judgments of God relating to particular cases, how much more in the universal judgment, when Christ will ascend his magnificent judgment-seat, to destroy the ungodly!