Verse 19: “The ones who say: ‘Let Him make speed and hasten His work, that we might see; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, that we will know.’”

Note: Some interpret this verse to say that they are mocking. They are scoffing and mocking God’s judgment as they do not believe it is really going to happen as God has held it off for so long (2 Peter 3:3-9).

Verse 20: “Woe to those who say that evil is good and good is evil, they set darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”

Evil: That which is not God’s will.

Good: That which is according to God’s will.

Note: These people do not have the right perspective. They have a different definition to God as to what is right and what is wrong, what is good or what is bad. When God says one thing, they say the opposite. This kind of behaviour and thinking is going to be very
characteristic, manifested in a very prevalent way, in the last days (Romans 1).


Verse 21: “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”

Wise in their own eyes: From their own perspective they think they are extremely intelligent. How awful it is going to be for those who are dependent upon their own revelation. We can never make wise and right decisions in our lives if we are not basing our
decisions on God’s revelation.

Verse 22: “Woe to the strong ones who drink wine; Woe to the men of valour who mix intoxicating drink.”

The strong ones: They are called to be a blessing to others.

Drink wine… mix intoxicating drink: Instead of being a blessing to others, instead of being committed to and working for the things of God, these men are sitting at leisure and taking their own pleasure. This all speaks about a rejection of the things of God. When alcohol is mentioned in the Scripture, more often than not, it is alluding to an escape from reality.

Verse 23: “Who justify the wicked on account of a bribe; they take away justice from the righteous man.”

Note: This verse speaks of corruption. The prophecy of Isaiah gives us a lens, a proper perspective, for seeing what the end days are going to be like. One of the characteristics of the last days is the rapid acceleration of corruption (see 2 Timothy 3:1-9)

Justify the wicked: They call wickedness righteousness.

Take away justice from the righteous man: Instead of punishing the wicked ones they reward them. To add to that, they want to remove the righteousness of righteous individuals from them.

Verse 24: “Therefore as straw is devoured by tongues of fire and the chaff by a flame, so their root will be let go of and it will become as rot, and their blossom will be as dust that goes up because they loathed the law of the Lord of hosts, and despise the Word of the Holy
One of Israel.”

Tongues: A synonym for flames.

Root: Foundation.

Rot: Utter decay. Governmental corruption led to spiritual decay. Spiritual decay was the basis for judgment.

Loathed…despise (blaspheme): This word in Hebrew means more than just rejecting or saying no to something. It is a word that carries loathing, despising, repulsion etc.

The law…the Word: This was their biggest problem. They were repulsed by the Word/law of God. This loathing of the law of God will be one of the characteristics of the antichrist. He will be a man of lawlessness – against or opposed to the law/Word of God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12).


Verse 25: “Therefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against His people, and His arm was stretched out against them, and He struck them. And the mountains trembled, their corpses were decaying in the midst of the streets. Nevertheless, His anger was not turned away, nor was His outstretched arm brought back.”

Mountains: Prophetically mountains are governments. All of this shows that when God pours out His judgment on Israel it will have a ripple effect throughout the world. When Israel is blessed, it has a blessed effect on the nations. When Israel is punished it has an
adverse outcome on all the nations of the world.

His anger was not turned away, nor was His outstretched arm brought back: God is going to pour out a harsh judgment in the last days. God is going to use the antichrist empire (just like He used Babylon) to bring this judgment upon His people (Israel).