34:5 Idumea was the home of the Edomites, who shared a common ancestry with Israel. The Israelites were descended from Jacob; the Edomites from Jacob’s twin brother, Esau. Edom was always Israel’s bitter enemy. The destruction of Idumea mentioned here is a picture of the ultimate end of all who oppose God and his people.
34:16 Isaiah referred to the prophecies that God commanded him to write down as the “book of the LORD.” Whoever lived to see the time of Edom’s destruction would have only to look up these prophecies to find agreement between what happened and what was predicted. Prophecy predicts and history reveals what has been in God’s mind for all time.