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Judgment of the Nations

34 “Come near, you nations, to listen,
    and pay attention, you peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
    the world, and all that comes out of it.
For the Lord is angry against all the nations,
    and furious against all their armies.
He has doomed them to destruction,
    and[a] given them up to be slaughtered.[b]
Their slain[c] will be thrown out;
    and as for their dead bodies—
their stench will ascend;
    the[d] mountains will be soaked with their blood.
The valleys will be split,
    all the stars[e] in the heavens will fall down,[f]
        and the skies will be rolled up like a scroll.
All their starry host will fade away
    like leaves withering on a vine,
        or fruit withering on a fig tree.

For my sword will be seen[g] in the heavens.
    Look! It descends in judgment on Edom,
        on the people I have doomed to destruction.
The Lord has a sword bathed in blood;
    it’s covered[h] with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
    and with fat from the kidneys of rams.”

Judgment on Bozrah and Edom

“For the Lord holds a sacrifice in Bozrah,
    and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Wild oxen will fall together with them—
    young steers and mighty bulls.
Their land will be drenched[i] with blood,
    and their soil will be swollen with fat.
For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
    a year of recompense for Zion’s cause.
Edom’s[j] streams will be turned into burning sulfur,
    and its dust into sulfur;
        its land will become pitch.
10 It will burn night and day,
    and will never be extinguished.
Its smoke will rise from generation to generation,
    and it will lie desolate forever and ever.
        And no one will pass through it.[k]

11 “But hawks and hedgehogs will possess it;
    owls and ravens will nest in it.
God[l] will stretch out over it a measuring line, and chaos,[m]
    and plumb lines of emptiness, and its nobles.[n]
12 They will name it “No Kingdom There,”
    and all its princes will come to nothing.
13 Thorns will grow over its palaces,
    nettles and brambles its fortresses.
It will become a haunt for jackals,
    a home for ostriches.
14 And desert creatures will meet with hyenas,
    and goat-demons will call out to each other.
There also Liliths[o] will settle,
    and find for themselves[p] a resting place.
15 Owls[q] will nest there, lay eggs,
    hatch them, and care for their young
        under the shadow of their wings;[r]
yes[s] indeed, vultures will gather there,
    each one with its mate.”

The Certainty of God’s Deliverance

16 “Study and read from the book of the Lord:
    And not one[t] will be missing,
        each will not long for its mate.[u]
For it is the mouth of the Lord that has issued the order,
    and it is his Spirit that has gathered them.
17 It is he who has allotted their portions,[v]
    and his hand has divided it for them with a measuring line forever.[w]
They will possess it forever;[x]
    from generation to generation they will live in it.”[y]

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and
  2. Isaiah 34:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read for slaughter
  3. Isaiah 34:3 Or mortally wounded
  4. Isaiah 34:3 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks the
  5. Isaiah 34:4 Lit. host
  6. Isaiah 34:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads All the stars of the heavens will rot away ; LXX lacks this line
  7. Isaiah 34:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads has drunk its fill; cf. LXX
  8. Isaiah 34:6 Or satiated
  9. Isaiah 34:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads drench
  10. Isaiah 34:9 Lit. Its
  11. Isaiah 34:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads blazing pitch. 10 Night and day it will not be extinguished. Its smoke will go up forever; from generation to generation it will lie desolate. No one will ever pass through it again. LXX lacks the last line
  12. Isaiah 34:11 Lit. He
  13. Isaiah 34:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads a measuring line of chaos
  14. Isaiah 34:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads And plumb lines of emptiness are 12 its nobles; LXX reads and satyrs will live in it. 12 Its nobles
  15. Isaiah 34:14 I.e. desert demons of the night
  16. Isaiah 34:14 So 1QIsaa; MT reads The Lilith will settle, and find for itself
  17. Isaiah 34:15 Or tree-snakes; LXX reads Hedgehogs
  18. Isaiah 34:15 Lit. in her shadow
  19. Isaiah 34:15 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks yes
  20. Isaiah 34:16 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Not one of them
  21. Isaiah 34:16 So MT; 1QIsaa reads each its mate
  22. Isaiah 34:17 Lit. has cast the lot for them
  23. Isaiah 34:17 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks forever
  24. Isaiah 34:17 So MT; 1QIsaa lacks Forever
  25. Isaiah 34:17 So MT; 1QIsaa corrector reads will they possess … live in it.

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)
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)
Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
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.

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)
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.
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.

For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
    a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
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

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