Isaiah 56:9

“All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, &c.] Which may be understood either literally of savage beasts being called to devour the slain, signifying a great slaughter that should be made, like that in (<661917>Revelation 19:17,18) to which the fowls of the heaven are invited, as to a supper; and so Kimchi interprets it of such creatures being called to feed upon the carcasses in the camp of Gog and Magog, agreeably to (<263917>Ezekiel 39:17,18), but it seems better to understand it figuratively of people and nations, comparable to the beasts of the field for their strength, cruelty, and voraciousness. The Targum of the whole is, “all the kings of the people that shall be gathered to…”

“beasts--Gentile idolatrous nations hostile to the Jews, summoned by God to chastise them (Jer 12:7-9; Jer 50:17; Eze 34:5): the Chaldeans and subsequently the Romans. The mention of the "outcasts of Israel" (Isa 56:8) brings in view the outcasting, caused by the sins of their rulers (Isa 56:10-12). to devour--namely, Israel.”

“All ye beasts of the field - This evidently commences a new subject, and refers to some invasion of the land of Judea. In the previous chapter, the prophet had comforted the people by the assurance of the coming of the Messiah, and by the fact that they should be enlarged by the accession of the Gentiles. He proceeds here to a more disagreeable part of the subject. The design is, to reprove particularly the sins of the rulers of the people, and to assure them that such conduct would incur the vengeance of heaven. The sins reproved are indolence and inattention to duty Isaiah 56:10-12; a spirit of self-indulgence and of slumber, avarice and selfishness, and luxury and intemperance. The…”

“Come - This is a prediction of Israel's destruction by their cruel enemies. The prophet having largely discoursed concerning the Messiah, and his kingdom, and having encouraged the Gentiles with God's gracious promises made to them, now proceeds to terrify the unbelieving Jews, and to shew that as the Gentiles would believe, and be saved, so they would reject their Messiah, and be destroyed. Isaiah 56:10”

“56:9–57:13 This is a reflection on the prevalence of evil among God’s people; they were greedy (56:9-12), hostile to the righteous (57:1-2), and idolatrous (57:3-13). 56:9 Wild animals are here a metaphor for the hostile nations surrounding Judah.”

“Deu 28:26; Jer 12:9; Eze 29:5, Eze 39:17; Rev 19:17, Rev 19:18 Isaiah 56:10”

“It is a question whether Isa 56:9 forms the commencement of a fresh prophecy, or merely the second half of the prophecy contained in Isa 56:1-8. We decide, for our part, in favour of the former. If Isa 56:9. formed an antithetical second half to the promising first half in Isa 56:1-8, we should expect to find the prophets and leaders of Israel, whose licentiousness and want of principle are here so severely condemned, threatened with destruction in the heathen land, whilst true proselytes and even eunuchs were brought to the holy mountain. But we meet with this antithesis for the first time in Isa 57:13, where we evidently find ourselves in the midst of another prophetic address. And where…”