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Isaiah 34:5-17
Evangelical Heritage Version
Isaiah 34:5-17
Evangelical Heritage Version
5 Yes, my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.
Now it will fall on Edom,
on the people I have sentenced to judgment.
6 The sword of the Lord is covered with blood.
It is coated with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat from the kidneys of rams,
for the Lord has made a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a massive slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will fall along with them,
bull calves and powerful bulls.
Their land will be soaked with blood,
and their dust will be saturated with fat.
8 It will be a day of vengeance for the Lord,
a year of retribution for Zion’s sake.[a]
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
its dust into sulfur,
and its land will become burning pitch,
10 which will not be extinguished night or day.
Its smoke will go up forever.
Generation after generation, it will lie in ruins.
No one will ever pass through it. Never again!
11 But the desert owl and the porcupine will live there.[b]
The screech owl and the raven will nest there.
God will stretch a measuring line for chaos over Edom,
and a plumb line for uninhabited ruins.[c]
12 There will be nothing left for its nobles to call a kingdom.
All its officials will be gone.
13 Thorns will cover its citadels.
Thistles and briers will overgrow its fortresses.
It will be a den of jackals,
a haunt for ostriches.
14 Desert animals and hyenas will gather,
and wild goats[d] will bleat to each other.
Creatures of the night[e] will settle there
and find a resting place.
15 An owl[f] will nest there.
She will lay eggs, hatch them,
and gather her young under her shade.
Falcons will gather there too,
each with its mate.
16 Search through the book of the Lord, and read.
Not one of them will be missing.
Not one will lack her mate.
For his mouth has commanded this,
and his Spirit has gathered them together.
17 He has allotted this land for these creatures.
His hand has divided it up for them with a surveying line.
They will possess it forever.
They will live there generation after generation.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:8 Or a time of retribution for the Defender of Zion
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these animals and other animals in this section is uncertain. The word translated porcupine may be another type of owl.
- Isaiah 34:11 The words translated chaos and uninhabited ruins are the same words that describe the undeveloped, empty world on the first day of creation.
- Isaiah 34:14 The term translated wild goats later became associated with satyrs and demons, but here it seems to refer to regular animals.
- Isaiah 34:14 Hebrew lilith. In later Jewish writing this term became the name of a female demon.
- Isaiah 34:15 Or the arrow snake. The meaning of the Hebrew term is uncertain.
Isaiah 34:5-17
New International Version
Isaiah 34:5-17
New International Version
5 My sword(A) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(B)
the people I have totally destroyed.(C)
6 The sword(D) 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(E) in Bozrah(F)
and a great slaughter(G) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(H) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(I)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(J)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(K) of vengeance,(L)
a year of retribution,(M) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(N)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(O) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(P)
From generation to generation(Q) it will lie desolate;(R)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[a](S) and screech owl[b] will possess it;
the great owl[c] and the raven(T) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(U)
the measuring line of chaos(V)
and the plumb line(W) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(X) will vanish(Y) away.
13 Thorns(Z) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AA)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AB)
a home for owls.(AC)
14 Desert creatures(AD) will meet with hyenas,(AE)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AF) 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;(AG)
there also the falcons(AH) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(AI) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(AJ)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AK) that has given the order,(AL)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(AM)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(AN)
Footnotes
- 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 34:5-17
King James Version
Isaiah 34:5-17
King James Version
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.
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