Font Size
Isaiah 34
Expanded Bible
Isaiah 34
Expanded Bible
God Will Punish His Enemies
34 All you nations, come near and listen.
Pay attention, you peoples!
The earth and ·everything in it [all it contains] should listen,
the world and all ·the people in it [its offspring].
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations;
he is ·angry [furious] with their armies.
He will ·destroy them [devote them to destruction; Josh. 6:21] and ·kill them all [turn them over for slaughter].
3 Their bodies will be thrown outside.
The ·stink [stench] will rise from the ·bodies [corpses],
and the blood will flow down the mountains.
4 ·The sun, moon, and stars [L All the hosts/armies of heaven] will dissolve [Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:13–14],
and the ·sky [heavens] will be rolled up like a scroll.
·The stars [L All their hosts] will fall
like dead leaves from a vine
or dried-up figs from a fig tree.
5 The Lord’s sword in the ·sky [heavens] ·is covered with [has drunk its fill of] blood.
It will ·cut through [L descend upon] Edom
and ·destroy those people as an offering to the Lord [on the people who are devoted to destruction for judgment; v. 2; Josh. 6:21].
6 The Lord’s sword will be covered with blood;
it will be covered with fat,
with the blood from lambs and goats,
with the fat from the kidneys of ·sheep [rams].
This is because the Lord ·decided there will be [L has] a sacrifice in Bozrah [C the capital of Edom]
and ·much killing [a great slaughter] in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will ·be killed [L fall with them],
and the ·cattle [or young bulls] and the strong ·bulls [L ones; C perhaps referring to Edom’s leaders].
The land will ·be filled with [drink its fill of] their blood,
and the dirt will be covered with their fat.
8 The Lord has chosen a time for punishment.
He has chosen a year ·when people must pay [of retribution/recompense] for the ·wrongs they did to [or the cause of] ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
9 Edom’s rivers will be like ·hot tar [pitch].
Its ·dirt [dust] will be like ·burning sulfur [T brimstone].
Its land will be like burning ·tar [pitch].
10 The fires will ·burn [L not be quenched] night and day;
the smoke will rise from Edom forever.
·Year after year [L From generation to generation] that land will be ·empty [desolate];
no one will ever ·travel [pass] through that land again.
11 ·Birds [Desert owls; or Pelicans] and ·small animals [screech owl; or porcupine] will own that land,
and owls and ravens will live there.
·God [L He] will ·make it an empty wasteland [L stretch over it a measuring line of confusion/chaos];
·it will have nothing left in it [L and the plumb line of desolation; C like a careful craftsman, God has planned Edom’s judgment].
12 The ·important people [nobles] will have ·no one left to rule them [or nothing to call a kingdom];
the ·leaders [officials; princes] will ·all be gone [or be nothing].
13 Thorns will ·take over [overrun] the ·strong towers [strongholds; citadels],
and wild bushes will grow in the ·walled cities [fortresses].
It will be a home for ·wild dogs [jackals]
and a place for ·owls [or ostriches] to live.
14 Desert animals will live with the hyenas,
and wild goats will call to their friends.
Night animals will live there
and find a place of rest.
15 Owls will nest there and lay eggs.
When they hatch open, the owls will gather their young under their ·wings [L shadow].
Hawks will gather
with ·their own kind [or its mate].
16 ·Look at [L Search] the Lord’s scroll and read what is written there:
None of these will be missing;
none will be without its mate.
·God [L For his mouth] has given the command,
so his Spirit will gather them together.
17 God has ·divided the land among [or cast the lot for] them,
and he has ·given [measured to] them each their portion.
So they will ·own [possess] that land forever
and will live there ·year after year [from generation to generation].
Isaiah 34
New International Version
Isaiah 34
New International Version
Judgment Against the Nations
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(A)
pay attention, you peoples!(B)
Let the earth(C) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(D)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(E) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[a](F) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(G)
3 Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(L)
and the heavens rolled up(M) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(N)
like withered(O) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(Q)
the people I have totally destroyed.(R)
6 The sword(S) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(T) in Bozrah(U)
and a great slaughter(V) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(W) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(X)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(Y)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(AC)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(AD) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(AE)
From generation to generation(AF) it will lie desolate;(AG)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[b](AH) and screech owl[c] will possess it;
the great owl[d] and the raven(AI) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(AJ)
the measuring line of chaos(AK)
and the plumb line(AL) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(AM) will vanish(AN) away.
13 Thorns(AO) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AQ)
a home for owls.(AR)
14 Desert creatures(AS) will meet with hyenas,(AT)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AU) 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;(AV)
there also the falcons(AW) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(AX) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(AY)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AZ) that has given the order,(BA)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(BB)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(BC)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Isaiah 34
King James Version
Isaiah 34
King James Version
34 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
16 Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
Expanded Bible (EXB)
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.