[a]Its streams will be turned into pitch,
And its loose earth into (A)brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It will (B)not be extinguished night or day;
Its (C)smoke will go up forever.
From (D)generation to generation it will be desolate;
(E)None will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But [b](F)pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
And [c]owl and raven will dwell in it;
And He will stretch over it the (G)line of [d]desolation
And the [e]plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is (H)no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its officials will be (I)nothing.
13 Thorns will come up in its (J)fortified towers,
Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities;
It will also be a haunt of (K)jackals
And a habitat of ostriches.
14 The desert (L)creatures will meet with the [f]wolves,
The [g](M)goat also will cry to its kind.
Yes, the [h]night-bird will settle there
And will find herself a resting place.
15 The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there,
And it will hatch and gather them under its [i]protection.
Yes, (N)the [j]hawks will be gathered there,
Every one with its kind.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:9 I.e., Edom’s
  2. Isaiah 34:11 Or owl; or jackdaw
  3. Isaiah 34:11 Or great horned owl
  4. Isaiah 34:11 Or formlessness
  5. Isaiah 34:11 Lit stones of void
  6. Isaiah 34:14 Or howling creatures
  7. Isaiah 34:14 Or goat demon
  8. Isaiah 34:14 Or a demon; Heb Lilith
  9. Isaiah 34:15 Lit shade
  10. Isaiah 34:15 Or kites

Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;(A)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(B) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.(C)
From generation to generation(D) it will lie desolate;(E)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[a](F) and screech owl[b] will possess it;
    the great owl[c] and the raven(G) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(H)
    the measuring line of chaos(I)
    and the plumb line(J) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes(K) will vanish(L) away.
13 Thorns(M) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.(N)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(O)
    a home for owls.(P)
14 Desert creatures(Q) will meet with hyenas,(R)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(S) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;(T)
there also the falcons(U) will gather,
    each with its mate.

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.

16 To make their land a (A)desolation,
An object of perpetual (B)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (C)shake his head.

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16 Their land will be an object of horror(A)
    and of lasting scorn;(B)
all who pass by will be appalled(C)
    and will shake their heads.(D)

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