Isaiah 2:19

“And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, &c.] That is, the worshippers of idols, as they are bid to do, (<230210>Isaiah 2:10) for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, (see Gill on “<230210>Isaiah 2:10”) when be ariseth; out of his place; Jarchi says, at the day of judgment; but it respects the judgment of the great whore, and the time when Babylon the great shall come in remembrance before God: to shake terribly the earth; at which earthquake, or shaking of the earth, that is, a revolution of the antichristian state, the tenth part of the city will fall, and seven thousand men of name be slain, (<660913>Revelation 9:13 16:18,19) and so…”

“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.”

“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 Samuel 24:0. Sometimes caves or dens were artificially constructed for refuge or defense in danger; Judges 6:2; 1 Samuel 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.’ Judges 6:2. To these they fled in times of hostile…”

“They - The idolatrous Israelites. Isaiah 2:20”

“And they: Isa 2:10, Isa 2:21; Sa1 13:6, Sa1 14:11; Jer 16:16; Hos 10:8; Mic 7:17; Luk 23:30; Heb 11:38; Rev 6:15, Rev 9:6 earth: Heb. dust for fear: Isa 2:10; Th2 1:9 when he: Isa 30:32; Psa 7:6, Psa 18:6-15, Psa 76:7-9, Psa 114:5-7; Mic 1:3, Mic 1:4; Nah 1:3-6; Hab 3:3-14; Hag 2:6, Hag 2:21, Hag 2:22; Heb 12:26; Pe2 3:10-13; Rev 6:12-14; Rev 11:13, Rev 11:19, Rev 16:18, Rev 20:11 Isaiah 2:20”

“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…”