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)
²The 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)
³Their slain^(H) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies^(I) will stink;^(J)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.^(K)
⁴All 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.

⁵My sword^(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^(Q)
    the people I have totally destroyed.^(R)
⁶The 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.
⁷And 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.

⁸For the Lord has a day^(Z) of vengeance,^(AA)
    a year of retribution,^(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
⁹Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;^(AC)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
¹⁰It 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.
¹¹The 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.
¹²Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes^(AM) will vanish^(AN) away.
¹³Thorns^(AO) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.^(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,^(AQ)
    a home for owls.^(AR)
¹⁴Desert 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.
¹⁵The 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.

¹⁶Look 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.
¹⁷He allots their portions;^(BB)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.^(BC)

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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.

Romans 6:12-23

New International Version

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign^(A) in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,^(B) but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.^(C) ¹⁴For sin shall no longer be your master,^(D) because you are not under the law,^(E) but under grace.^(F)

Slaves to Righteousness

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?^(G) By no means! ¹⁶Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey^(H)—whether you are slaves to sin,^(I) which leads to death,^(J) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God^(K) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,^(L) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching^(M) that has now claimed your allegiance. ¹⁸You have been set free from sin^(N) and have become slaves to righteousness.^(O)

¹⁹I am using an example from everyday life^(P) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness^(Q) leading to holiness. ²⁰When you were slaves to sin,^(R) you were free from the control of righteousness.^(S) ²¹What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^(T) ²²But now that you have been set free from sin^(U) and have become slaves of God,^(V) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^(W) ²³For the wages of sin is death,^(X) but the gift of God is eternal life^(Y) in^[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.