God’s Wrath against Nations

34 Come near, (A)you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples!
(B)Let the earth and [a]all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.
For the Lords (C)anger is against all the nations,
And His wrath against all their armies.
He has [b](D)utterly destroyed them,
He has turned them over to (E)slaughter.
So their slain will be (F)thrown 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 heavenly [e]lights will [f]wear away,
And the (J)sky will be rolled up like a scroll;
All its [g]lights will also wither away
As a leaf withers from the vine,
Or as one withers from the fig tree.
For (K)My sword has drunk its fill in heaven;
Behold it shall descend for judgment upon (L)Edom,
And upon the people whom I have (M)designated for destruction.
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice in (N)Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of (O)Edom.
(P)Wild oxen will also [h]fall with them
And (Q)young bulls with strong ones;
So their land will be (R)soaked with blood,
And their dust [i]become greasy with fat.
For the Lord has a day of (S)vengeance,
A year of retribution for the [j]cause of Zion.
[k]Its streams will be turned into pitch,
And its loose earth into (T)brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It will (U)not be extinguished night or day;
Its (V)smoke will go up forever.
From (W)generation to generation it will be desolate;
(X)None will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But [l](Y)pelican and hedgehog will possess it,
And [m]owl and raven will dwell in it;
And He will stretch over it the (Z)line of [n]desolation
And the [o]plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is (AA)no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its officials will be (AB)nothing.
13 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 a habitat of ostriches.
14 The desert (AE)creatures will meet with the [p]wolves,
The [q](AF)goat also will cry to its kind.
Yes, the [r]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 [s]protection.
Yes, (AG)the [t]hawks will be gathered there,
Every one with its kind.

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

Not one of these will be missing;
None will lack its mate.
For [u](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 the (AK)measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From (AL)generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:1 Lit its fullness
  2. Isaiah 34:2 Lit put under the ban
  3. Isaiah 34:3 Lit their stench will go up
  4. Isaiah 34:3 Lit dissolve
  5. Isaiah 34:4 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  6. Isaiah 34:4 Lit rot
  7. Isaiah 34:4 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
  8. Isaiah 34:7 Lit go down
  9. Isaiah 34:7 Lit made fat
  10. Isaiah 34:8 Or controversy
  11. Isaiah 34:9 I.e., Edom’s
  12. Isaiah 34:11 Or owl; or jackdaw
  13. Isaiah 34:11 Or great horned owl
  14. Isaiah 34:11 Or formlessness
  15. Isaiah 34:11 Lit stones of void
  16. Isaiah 34:14 Or howling creatures
  17. Isaiah 34:14 Or goat demon
  18. Isaiah 34:14 Or a demon; Heb Lilith
  19. Isaiah 34:15 Lit shade
  20. Isaiah 34:15 Or kites
  21. Isaiah 34:16 As in DSS; MT My

34 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples: let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof; the world, and all things that come forth from it. For Jehovah hath indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he hath [a]utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all the host of heaven shall [b]be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fadeth from off the vine, and as a fading leaf from the fig-tree. For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my [c]curse, to judgment. The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And the wild-oxen shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls: and their land shall be drunken with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

For Jehovah hath a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. And the streams [d]of Edom 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 pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; and the [e]owl and the raven shall dwell therein: and he will stretch over it the line of confusion, and the [f]plummet of emptiness. 12 [g]They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing. 13 And thorns shall come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in the fortresses thereof; and it shall be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches. 14 And the wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the [h]wolves, and the wild goat shall cry to his fellow; yea, [i]the night-monster shall settle there, and shall find her a place of rest. 15 There shall the dart-snake make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shade; yea, there shall the kites be gathered, every one with her mate.

16 Seek ye out of the book of Jehovah, and read: no one of these shall be missing, 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.

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:2 Hebrew devoted.
  2. Isaiah 34:4 Or, moulder away
  3. Isaiah 34:5 Hebrew devoting, or ban.
  4. Isaiah 34:9 Hebrew thereof.
  5. Isaiah 34:11 Or, bittern
  6. Isaiah 34:11 Hebrew stones.
  7. Isaiah 34:12 Or, As for her nobles, none shall be there to proclaim the kingdom
  8. Isaiah 34:14 Hebrew howling creatures.
  9. Isaiah 34:14 Hebrew Lilith.