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Yahweh’s Wrath Against the Nations

34 Draw near, (A)O nations, to hear; and pay attention, O peoples!
(B)Let the earth hear, as well as its fullness, the world and all that springs from it.
For the (C)indignation of Yahweh is against all the nations,
And His wrath against all their [a]hosts;
He has [b](D)devoted them to destruction;
He has given them over to (E)slaughter.
So their slain will be (F)cast out,
And their corpses [c]will give off their (G)stench,
And the mountains will [d]be drenched with their (H)blood.
And (I)all the host of heaven will rot away,
And the (J)sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
All their hosts will also wither away
As a leaf withers from the vine,
Or as one withers from the fig tree.
For (K)My sword is satiated in heaven;
Behold, it shall descend for judgment upon (L)Edom
And upon the people whom I have (M)devoted to destruction.
The sword of Yahweh is filled with blood;
It is [e]sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For Yahweh has a sacrifice in (N)Bozrah
And a great slaughter in the land of (O)Edom.
(P)And wild oxen will also [f]fall with them,
And (Q)young bulls with strong ones;
Thus their land will be (R)soaked with blood,
And their dust [g]become greasy with fat.
For Yahweh has a day of (S)vengeance,
A year of recompense for the [h]cause of Zion.
[i]And its streams will be turned into pitch,
And its dust into (T)brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It will (U)not be quenched night or day;
Its (V)smoke will go up forever.
From (W)generation to generation it will be laid waste;
(X)None will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But [j](Y)pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
And [k]owl and raven will dwell in it;
And He will stretch over it the (Z)line of utter formlessness
And the [l]plumb line of utter void.
12 Its nobles—there is (AA)no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its princes will be (AB)non-existent.
13 And thorns will come up in its (AC)fortified towers,
Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities;
It will also be a haunt of (AD)jackals
And an abode of ostriches.
14 And the desert (AE)creatures will meet with the [m]wolves;
The [n](AF)hairy goat also will cry to its kind;
Surely, the [o]night creature will obtain relief there
And will find itself a resting place.
15 The [p]owl will make its nest and find its escape there,
And it will hatch its eggs and gather them in its shade.
Surely, (AG)the [q]falcons will be gathered there,
Every one with its kind.

16 Seek from the (AH)book of Yahweh, and read:

Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For [r](AI)His mouth has commanded,
And His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the (AJ)lot for them,
And His hand has divided it to them by (AK)line.
They shall possess it forever;
From (AL)generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:2 Lit host
  2. Isaiah 34:2 Or put them under the ban
  3. Isaiah 34:3 Lit their stench will go up
  4. Isaiah 34:3 Lit dissolve
  5. Isaiah 34:6 Lit made fat
  6. Isaiah 34:7 Lit go down
  7. Isaiah 34:7 Lit made fat
  8. Isaiah 34:8 Or controversy
  9. Isaiah 34:9 Edom’s
  10. Isaiah 34:11 Or owl, jackdaw
  11. Isaiah 34:11 Or great horned owl
  12. Isaiah 34:11 Lit stones of void
  13. Isaiah 34:14 Or howling creatures
  14. Isaiah 34:14 Or goat demon
  15. Isaiah 34:14 Heb Lilith
  16. Isaiah 34:15 Or tree snake
  17. Isaiah 34:15 Or hawks
  18. Isaiah 34:16 As in DSS; M.T. My

Vengeance against Edom

34 Draw near, you nations, to hear;
    and listen, you peoples.
Hear, earth and all who fill it,
    world and all its offspring.
The Lord rages against all the nations,
    and is angry with all their armies.
God is about to wipe them out
    and has prepared them for slaughter.
Their dead will be cast out,
    the stench of their corpses will rise,
    and the mountains will melt from their blood.
All the stars of heaven will dissolve,
    the skies will roll up like a scroll,
    and all the stars will fall,
    like a leaf withering from a vine,
    like fruit from a fig tree.

When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens,
    it will descend upon Edom for judgment,
    upon a people I have doomed for destruction.
The Lord has a sword covered with blood;
    it is soaked with fat
    from the blood of lambs and goats,
    from the kidney fat of rams,
    for the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
        a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Wild oxen will fall with them,
    steers with mighty bulls,
    and their land will be drenched with blood;
    its soil soaked with fat.
The Lord has a day of vengeance,
    a year of payback for Zion’s cause.

Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    its dust into sulfur,
    and its land will become burning pitch.
10 Night and day won’t be extinguished;
    its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation it will lie waste;
    no one will ever pass through it again.
11 Screech owls and crows will possess it;
    owls and ravens will live there.[a]
God will stretch over it the measuring line of chaos
    and the plummet stone of emptiness over its officials.
12 No Kingdom There, they will call it,
    and all its princes will disappear.
13 Thorns will grow up in its palaces,
    weeds and brambles in its fortresses.
It will be a dwelling for jackals,
    a home for ostriches.
14 Wildcats will meet hyenas,
    the goat demon will call to his friends,
    and there Lilith[b] will lurk
    and find her resting place.
15 There the snake will nest and lay eggs
    and brood and hatch in its shadow.
There too vultures will gather,
    each with its mate.[c]
16 Consult the Lord’s scroll and read:
    Not one of these will be missing;
    none will lack its mate.
    God’s own mouth has commanded;
    God’s own spirit has gathered them.
17 God has cast the lot for them;
    God’s hand allotted it to them with the measuring line.
They will possess it forever;
    they will live in it from generation to generation.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:11 Species uncertain
  2. Isaiah 34:14 Name of a demon
  3. Isaiah 34:15 Species uncertain