Isaiah 2:13

“And upon all the cedars of Lebanon [that are] high and lifted up, &c.] That is, upon the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with Babylon, and will join with the beast and false prophet in making war with the Lamb. So the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi, interpret it of the kings of the nations, mighty and strong: and upon all the oaks of Bashan; nobles, princes, governors of provinces, as the same writers explain the words, oaks being inferior to cedars: the day of the Lord will be upon these, and their destruction come on at the battle of Armageddon, (<661918>Revelation 19:18-21).”

“cedars . . . oaks--image for haughty nobles and princes (Amo 2:9; Zac 11:1-2; compare Rev 19:18-21). Bashan--east of Jordan, north of the river Jabbok, famous for fine oaks, pasture, and cattle. Perhaps in "oaks" there is reference to their idolatry (Isa 1:29).”

“And upon all the cedars of Lebanon - This is a beautiful specimen of the poetic manner of writing, so common among the Hebrews, where spiritual and moral subjects are represented by grand or beautiful imagery taken from objects of nature. Mount Lebanon bounded Palestine on the north. It was formerly much celebrated for its large and lofty cedars. These cedars were from thirty-five to forty feet in girth, and very high. They were magnificent trees, and were valuable for ceiling: statues, or roofs, that required durable, and beautiful timber. The roof of the temple of Diana of Ephesus, according to Pliny, was of cedar, and no small part of the temple of Solomon was of this wood. A few lofty…”

“The cedars - The cedars and oaks on the mountains shall be either thrown down by furious winds or earthquakes, or torn in pieces by thunder and lightning; and the stately houses built with cedars and oaks, shall be destroyed. Isaiah 2:14”

“2:13-16 The prophet used several images of human strength to elaborate on 2:11-12. 2:13 The cedars of Lebanon were prized trees used in the construction of Solomon’s Temple and palace (1 Kgs 5:6) and other important buildings (Ezra 3:7). They represented wealth and power (2 Chr 25:18; Pss 92:12; 104:16), yet these mighty trees were as nothing before the Lord (Isa 10:34; 33:9; see the boast of Sennacherib in 37:24). • The oaks of Bashan were also an image of strength and splendor (Ezek 27:6); they, too, will disappoint (Isa 33:9; Nah 1:4; Zech 11:2).”

“Isa 10:33, Isa 10:34, Isa 14:8, Isa 37:24; Eze 31:3-12; Amo 2:5; Zac 11:1, Zac 11:2 Isaiah 2:14”

“The prophet then proceeds to enumerate all the high things upon which that day would fall, arranging them two and two, and binding them in pairs by a double correlative Vav. The day of Jehovah comes, as the first two pairs affirm, upon everything lofty in nature. "As upon all the cedars of Lebanon, the lofty and exalted, so upon all the oaks of Bashan. As upon all mountains, the lofty ones, so upon all hills the exalted ones." But wherefore upon all this majestic beauty of nature? Is all this merely figurative? Knobel regards it as merely a figurative description of the grand buildings of the time of Uzziah and Jotham, in the erection of which wood had been used from Lebanon as well as from…”