John Calvin Commentary Isaiah 24:17

"Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth." — Isaiah 24:17 (ASV)

Fear, and the pit, and the snare. The Prophet here discourses against the sins of the people. Previously, he declared that not only one nation, but very many and very distant nations, would have abundant grounds for thanksgiving. He now passes to another doctrine, for I think that these words should be separated from what comes before. Isaiah again threatens the wicked, so that they may know that even amidst the greatest prosperity of the Church, they will be miserable.

To indulge their indifference, wicked men are accustomed to rashly apply God's promises to themselves, even though these promises do not belong to them at all; and therefore, the prophets usually mingle threats with them. It is also possible that Isaiah delivered this discourse separately from the rest, and on a different occasion, for neither the prophets themselves nor other learned men divided the chapters. We have often seen different subjects joined together, and others divided which should have been joined, which was undoubtedly done through ignorance. However that may be, the Prophet returns to the wicked and threatens them with severe and dreadful judgment.

This description of fear, the pit, and the snare is intended to stir their emotions; for if he had said, in a single word, that destruction awaits the wicked, they would not have been greatly moved. But there is room to doubt whether he addresses the Jews alone. Personally, I would not be much inclined to dispute this matter; but I think it is more probable that these threats also related to other nations, and even to the whole world, about which he had explicitly prophesied.

O inhabitant of the earth. By "the world" we understand those countries which were known to the Jews, as we have already explained. The meaning is, "You are pressed by afflictions so diversified, that you have no means of escape."

Amos gives a similar description: He who shall flee through dread of a lion shall meet a bear; and if he go into the house, when he leaneth on a wall, a serpent shall bite him (Amos 5:19). Isaiah previously said that lions would be sent against the Moabites who had escaped from the battle (Isaiah 15:9). God has an endless variety of scourges for punishing the wicked.

It is as if he had said, "Know that you cannot escape the hand of God, for he has various methods by which he takes vengeance on their crimes, and thus overtakes those who had hoped to escape by a variety of contrivances. He who escapes from the battle shall be tormented with hunger; and when he is freed from hunger, he will meet some other calamity, as if nets had been laid on all sides to ensnare you."

For the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken. This argument confirms what has already been said: that it is impossible for them to escape God's vengeance, who has prepared for it a free course in heaven and on earth, from the utmost height of heaven down to the depths of the earth. Some think that he alludes to the deluge (Genesis 7:11); but, in my opinion, the meaning is simpler: that the wrath of God will be revealed above and below. It is as if he had said, "The Lord will arm heaven and earth to execute his vengeance against men, so that wherever they turn their eyes, they may behold nothing but destruction."