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Selected Verse: Isaiah 2:19 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Isa 2:19	Strong Concordance	And they shall go [0935] into the holes [04631] of the rocks [06697], and into the caves [04247] of the earth [06083], for [06440] fear [06343] of the LORD [03068], and for the glory [01926] of his majesty [01347], when he ariseth [06965] to shake terribly [06206] the earth [0776].
	King James	And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
The fulfilment answers exactly to the threat (Isa 2:10). they--the idol-worshippers. caves--abounding in Judea, a hilly country; hiding-places in times of alarm (Sa1 13:6). shake . . . earth--and the heavens also (Heb 12:26). Figure for severe and universal judgments.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

The fulfilment answers exactly to the threat (Isa 2:10).

they--the idol-worshippers.

caves--abounding in Judea, a hilly country; hiding-places in times of alarm (Sa1 13:6).

shake . . . earth--and the heavens also (Heb 12:26). Figure for severe and universal judgments.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And they shall go - That is, the worshippers of idols. Into the holes of the rocks - Judea was a mountainous country, and the mountains abounded with caves that offered a safe retreat for those who were in danger. Many of those caverns were very spacious. At En-gedi, in particular, a cave is mentioned where David with six hundred men hid himself from Saul in the "sides" of it; 1 Sam. 24. Sometimes caves or dens were artificially constructed for refuge or defense in danger; Jdg 6:2; Sa1 13:6. Thus, 'because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.' Jdg 6:2. To these they fled in times of hostile invasion. 'When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits;' Sa1 13:6; compare Jer 41:9. Mahomet speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the tribe of Thamud, who 'hewed houses out of the mountains to secure themselves;' Koran, ch. xv. and xxvi. Grots or rooms hewed out of rocks for various purposes are often mentioned by travelers in Oriental regions: see Maundrell, p. 118, and Burckhardt's "Travels in Syria," and particularly Laborde's "Journey to Arabia Petrea." Such caves are often mentioned by Josephus as affording places of refuge for banditti and robbers; "Ant.," B. xiv. ch. 15, and "Jewish Wars," B. i. ch. 16. To enter into the caves and dens, therefore, as places of refuge, was a very natural image to denote consternation. The meaning here is, that the worshippers of idols should be so alarmed as to seek for a place of security and refuge; compare Isa 2:10. When he ariseth - This is an expression often used in the Scriptures to denote the commencement of doing anything. It is here derived, perhaps, from the image of one who has been in repose - as of a lion or warrior, rousing up suddenly, and putting forth mighty efforts. To shake terribly the earth - An image denoting the presence of God, for judgment or punishment. One of the magnificent images which the sacred writers often use to denote the presence of the Lord is, that the earth shakes and trembles; the mountains bow and are convulsed; Sa2 22:8 : 'Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved, because he was wroth;' See also Isa 2:9-16; Jdg 5:4; Hab 3:6-10 : 'The mountains saw thee and trembled;' Heb 12:26 : 'Whose voice then shook the earth.' The image here denotes that he would come forth in such wrath that the very earth should tremble, as if alarmed his presence. The mind cannot conceive more sublime images than are thus used by the sacred writers.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

And they shall go - That is, the worshippers of idols.

Into the holes of the rocks - Judea was a mountainous country, and the mountains abounded with caves that offered a safe retreat for those who were in danger. Many of those caverns were very spacious. At En-gedi, in particular, a cave is mentioned where David with six hundred men hid himself from Saul in the "sides" of it; 1 Sam. 24. Sometimes caves or dens were artificially constructed for refuge or defense in danger; Jdg 6:2; Sa1 13:6. Thus, 'because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds.' Jdg 6:2. To these they fled in times of hostile invasion. 'When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits;' Sa1 13:6; compare Jer 41:9. Mahomet speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the tribe of Thamud, who 'hewed houses out of the mountains to secure themselves;' Koran, ch. xv. and xxvi. Grots or rooms hewed out of rocks for various purposes are often mentioned by travelers in Oriental regions: see Maundrell, p. 118, and Burckhardt's "Travels in Syria," and particularly Laborde's "Journey to Arabia Petrea." Such caves are often mentioned by Josephus as affording places of refuge for banditti and robbers; "Ant.," B. xiv. ch. 15, and "Jewish Wars," B. i. ch. 16. To enter into the caves and dens, therefore, as places of refuge, was a very natural image to denote consternation. The meaning here is, that the worshippers of idols should be so alarmed as to seek for a place of security and refuge; compare Isa 2:10.

When he ariseth - This is an expression often used in the Scriptures to denote the commencement of doing anything. It is here derived, perhaps, from the image of one who has been in repose - as of a lion or warrior, rousing up suddenly, and putting forth mighty efforts.

To shake terribly the earth - An image denoting the presence of God, for judgment or punishment. One of the magnificent images which the sacred writers often use to denote the presence of the Lord is, that the earth shakes and trembles; the mountains bow and are convulsed; Sa2 22:8 : 'Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved, because he was wroth;' See also Isa 2:9-16; Jdg 5:4; Hab 3:6-10 : 'The mountains saw thee and trembled;' Heb 12:26 : 'Whose voice then shook the earth.' The image here denotes that he would come forth in such wrath that the very earth should tremble, as if alarmed his presence. The mind cannot conceive more sublime images than are thus used by the sacred writers.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
What the idolaters themselves will do when Jehovah has so completely deprived their idols of all their divinity, is then described in Isa 2:19 : "And they will creep into caves in the rocks, and cellars in the earth, before the terrible look of Jehovah, and before the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to put the earth in terror." Meârâh is a natural cave, and mechillah a subterraneous excavation: this is apparently the distinction between the two synonyms. "To put the earth in terror:" lârotz hâ-aretz, a significant paronomasia, which can be reproduced in Latin, thus: ut terreat terram. Thus the judgment would fall upon the earth without any limitation, upon men universally (compare the word hâ-âdâm in Isa 2:20, which is scarcely ever applied to a single individual (Jos 14:15), excepting, of course, the first man, but generally to men, or to the human race) and upon the totality of nature as interwoven in the history of man - one complete whole, in which sin, and therefore wrath, had gained the upper hand. When Jehovah rose up, i.e., stood up from His heavenly throne, to reveal the glory manifested in heaven, and turn its judicial fiery side towards the sinful earth, the earth would receive such a shock as would throw it into a state resembling the chaos of the beginning. We may see very clearly from Rev 6:15, where this description is borrowed, that the prophet is here describing the last judgment, although from a national point of view and bounded by a national horizon.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
They - The idolatrous Israelites.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
Into the holes of the rocks "Into caverns of rocks" - The country of Judea being mountainous and rocky, is full of caverns, as appears from the history of David's persecution under Saul. At En-gedi, in particular, there was a cave so large that David with six hundred men hid themselves in the sides of it; and Saul entered the mouth of the cave without perceiving that any one was there, 1 Samuel 24. Josephus, Antiq., lib. xiv., c. 15, and Bell. Jud., lib. 1, c. 16, tells us of a numerous gang of banditti, who, having infested the country, and being pursued by Herod with his army retired into certain caverns almost inaccessible, near Arbela in Galilee, where they were with great difficulty subdued. Some of these were natural, others artificial. "Beyond Damascus," says Strabo, lib. xvi., "are two mountains called Trachones, from which the country has the name of Trachonitis; and from hence towards Arabia and Iturea, are certain rugged mountains, in which there are deep caverns, one of which will hold four thousand men." Tavernier, Voyage de Perse, part ii., chap. 4, speaks of a grot, between Aleppo and Bir, that would hold near three thousand horse. "Three hours distant from Sidon, about a mile from the sea, there runs along a high rocky mountain, in the sides of which are hewn a multitude of grots, all very little differing from each other. They have entrances about two feet square: on the inside you find in most or all of them a room of about four yards square. There are of these subterraneous caverns two hundred in number. It may, with probability at least, be concluded that these places were contrived for the use of the living, and not of the dead. Strabo describes the habitations of the Troglodytae to have been somewhat of this kind." - Maundrell, p. 118. The Horites, who dwelt in Mount Seir, were Troglodytae, as their name הרים horim, imports. But those mentioned by Strabo were on each side of the Arabian gulf. Mohammed (Koran, chap. 15 xxvi.) speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the tribe of Thamud, "who hewed houses out of the mountains, to secure themselves." Thus, "because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves and strong holds," Jdg 6:2. To these they betook themselves for refuge in times of distress and hostile invasion: "When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits," Sa1 13:6, and see Jer 41:9. Therefore "to enter into the rock, to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth," was to them a very proper and familiar image to express terror and consternation. The prophet Hosea, Hos 10:8, hath carried the same image farther, and added great strength and spirit to it: "They shall say to the mountains, Cover us; And to the hills, Fall on us;" which image, together with these of Isaiah, is adopted by the sublime author of the Revelation, Rev 6:15, Rev 6:16, who frequently borrows his imagery from our prophet. - L.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

Into the holes of the rocks "Into caverns of rocks" - The country of Judea being mountainous and rocky, is full of caverns, as appears from the history of David's persecution under Saul. At En-gedi, in particular, there was a cave so large that David with six hundred men hid themselves in the sides of it; and Saul entered the mouth of the cave without perceiving that any one was there, 1 Samuel 24. Josephus, Antiq., lib. xiv., c. 15, and Bell. Jud., lib. 1, c. 16, tells us of a numerous gang of banditti, who, having infested the country, and being pursued by Herod with his army retired into certain caverns almost inaccessible, near Arbela in Galilee, where they were with great difficulty subdued. Some of these were natural, others artificial. "Beyond Damascus," says Strabo, lib. xvi., "are two mountains called Trachones, from which the country has the name of Trachonitis; and from hence towards Arabia and Iturea, are certain rugged mountains, in which there are deep caverns, one of which will hold four thousand men." Tavernier, Voyage de Perse, part ii., chap. 4, speaks of a grot, between Aleppo and Bir, that would hold near three thousand horse. "Three hours distant from Sidon, about a mile from the sea, there runs along a high rocky mountain, in the sides of which are hewn a multitude of grots, all very little differing from each other. They have entrances about two feet square: on the inside you find in most or all of them a room of about four yards square. There are of these subterraneous caverns two hundred in number. It may, with probability at least, be concluded that these places were contrived for the use of the living, and not of the dead. Strabo describes the habitations of the Troglodytae to have been somewhat of this kind." - Maundrell, p. 118. The Horites, who dwelt in Mount Seir, were Troglodytae, as their name הרים horim, imports. But those mentioned by Strabo were on each side of the Arabian gulf. Mohammed (Koran, chap. 15 xxvi.) speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the tribe of Thamud, "who hewed houses out of the mountains, to secure themselves." Thus, "because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves and strong holds," Jdg 6:2. To these they betook themselves for refuge in times of distress and hostile invasion: "When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits," Sa1 13:6, and see Jer 41:9. Therefore "to enter into the rock, to go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth," was to them a very proper and familiar image to express terror and consternation. The prophet Hosea, Hos 10:8, hath carried the same image farther, and added great strength and spirit to it:

"They shall say to the mountains, Cover us;

And to the hills, Fall on us;"

which image, together with these of Isaiah, is adopted by the sublime author of the Revelation, Rev 6:15, Rev 6:16, who frequently borrows his imagery from our prophet. - L.

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²⁶ Whose [3739] voice [5456] then [5119] shook [4531] the earth [1093]: but [1161] now [3568] he hath promised [1861], saying [3004], Yet [2089] once more [530] I [1473] shake [4579] not [3756] the earth [1093] only [3440], but [235] also [2532] heaven [3772].

⁶ When the men [0376] of Israel [03478] saw [07200] that they were in a strait [06887], (for the people [05971] were distressed [05065] then the people [05971] did hide [02244] themselves in caves [04631], and in thickets [02337], and in rocks [05553], and in high places [06877], and in pits [0953].

¹⁰ Enter [0935] into the rock [06697], and hide [02934] thee in the dust [06083], for [06440] fear [06343] of the LORD [03068], and for the glory [01926] of his majesty [01347].

⁶ He stood [05975], and measured [04128] the earth [0776]: he beheld [07200], and drove asunder [05425] the nations [01471]; and the everlasting [05703] mountains [02042] were scattered [06327], the perpetual [05769] hills [01389] did bow [07817]: his ways [01979] are everlasting [05769].
⁷ I saw [07200] the tents [0168] of Cushan [03572] in affliction [0205]: and the curtains [03407] of the land [0776] of Midian [04080] did tremble [07264].
⁸ Was the LORD [03068] displeased [02734] against the rivers [05104]? was thine anger [0639] against the rivers [05104]? was thy wrath [05678] against the sea [03220], that thou didst ride [07392] upon thine horses [05483] and thy chariots [04818] of salvation [03444]?
⁹ Thy bow [07198] was made quite [06181] naked [05783], according to the oaths [07621] of the tribes [04294], even thy word [0562]. Selah [05542]. Thou didst cleave [01234] the earth [0776] with rivers [05104].
¹⁰ The mountains [02022] saw [07200] thee, and they trembled [02342]: the overflowing [02230] of the water [04325] passed by [05674]: the deep [08415] uttered [05414] his voice [06963], and lifted up [05375] his hands [03027] on high [07315].

⁴ LORD [03068], when thou wentest out [03318] of Seir [08165], when thou marchedst out [06805] of the field [07704] of Edom [0123], the earth [0776] trembled [07493], and the heavens [08064] dropped [05197], the clouds [05645] also dropped [05197] water [04325].

⁹ And the mean man [0120] boweth down [07817], and the great man [0376] humbleth [08213] himself: therefore forgive [05375] them not.
¹⁰ Enter [0935] into the rock [06697], and hide [02934] thee in the dust [06083], for [06440] fear [06343] of the LORD [03068], and for the glory [01926] of his majesty [01347].
¹¹ The lofty [01365] looks [05869] of man [0120] shall be humbled [08213], and the haughtiness [07312] of men [0582] shall be bowed down [07817], and the LORD [03068] alone shall be exalted [07682] in that day [03117].
¹² For the day [03117] of the LORD [03068] of hosts [06635] shall be upon every one that is proud [01343] and lofty [07311], and upon every one that is lifted up [05375]; and he shall be brought low [08213]:
¹³ And upon all the cedars [0730] of Lebanon [03844], that are high [07311] and lifted up [05375], and upon all the oaks [0437] of Bashan [01316],
¹⁴ And upon all the high [07311] mountains [02022], and upon all the hills [01389] that are lifted up [05375],
¹⁵ And upon every high [01364] tower [04026], and upon every fenced [01219] wall [02346],
¹⁶ And upon all the ships [0591] of Tarshish [08659], and upon all pleasant [02532] pictures [07914].

⁸ Then the earth [0776] shook [01607] [01607] and trembled [07493]; the foundations [04146] of heaven [08064] moved [07264] and shook [01607], because he was wroth [02734].

¹⁰ Enter [0935] into the rock [06697], and hide [02934] thee in the dust [06083], for [06440] fear [06343] of the LORD [03068], and for the glory [01926] of his majesty [01347].

⁹ Now the pit [0953] wherein Ishmael [03458] had cast [07993] all the dead bodies [06297] of the men [0582], whom he had slain [05221] because [03027] of Gedaliah [01436], was it which Asa [0609] the king [04428] had made [06213] for fear [06440] of Baasha [01201] king [04428] of Israel [03478]: and Ishmael [03458] the son [01121] of Nethaniah [05418] filled [04390] it with them that were slain [02491].

² And the hand [03027] of Midian [04080] prevailed [05810] against Israel [03478]: and because [06440] of the Midianites [04080] the children [01121] of Israel [03478] made [06213] them the dens [04492] which are in the mountains [02022], and caves [04631], and strong holds [04679].

¹⁵ And [2532] the kings [935] of the earth [1093], and [2532] the great men [3175], and [2532] the rich men [4145], and [2532] the chief captains [5506], and [2532] the mighty men [1415], and [2532] every [3956] bondman [1401], and [2532] every [3956] free man [1658], hid [2928] themselves [1438] in [1519] the dens [4693] and [2532] in [1519] the rocks [4073] of the mountains [3735];

¹⁵ And the name [08034] of Hebron [02275] before [06440] was Kirjatharba [07153]; which Arba was a great [01419] man [0120] among the Anakims [06062]. And the land [0776] had rest [08252] from war [04421].

²⁰ In that day [03117] a man [0120] shall cast [07993] his idols [0457] of silver [03701], and his idols [0457] of gold [02091], which they made each one for himself [06213] to worship [07812], to the moles [02661] [06512] and to the bats [05847];

¹⁹ And they shall go [0935] into the holes [04631] of the rocks [06697], and into the caves [04247] of the earth [06083], for [06440] fear [06343] of the LORD [03068], and for the glory [01926] of his majesty [01347], when he ariseth [06965] to shake terribly [06206] the earth [0776].

¹⁶ And [2532] said [3004] to the mountains [3735] and [2532] rocks [4073], Fall [4098] on [1909] us [2248], and [2532] hide [2928] us [2248] from [575] the face [4383] of him that sitteth [2521] on [1909] the throne [2362], and [2532] from [575] the wrath [3709] of the Lamb [721]:

⁸ The high places [01116] also of Aven [0206], the sin [02403] of Israel [03478], shall be destroyed [08045]: the thorn [06975] and the thistle [01863] shall come up [05927] on their altars [04196]; and they shall say [0559] to the mountains [02022], Cover [03680] us; and to the hills [01389], Fall [05307] on us.