Isaiah 34
Lexham English Bible
Judgment on the Nations
34 Come near, nations, to hear;
and peoples, listen attentively!
Let the earth hear, and that which fills it;
the world and all its offspring.
2 For the anger of Yahweh is against all the nations,
and his wrath is against all their armies;
he has put them under a ban,
he has given them up for slaughter.
3 And their slain shall be cast out;
as for[a] their corpses, their stench shall go up.
And the mountains shall melt with[b] their blood,
4 and all the host of heaven shall rot.
And the skies shall roll up like a scroll,
and all their host shall wither
like the withering of a leaf from a vine,
or[c] like the withering from a fig tree.
5 When my sword is drenched in the heavens,
look! It will descend upon Edom,
and upon the people of my ban, for judgment.
6 Yahweh has a sword;[d]
it is full of blood.
It is covered with[e] fat,
with[f] the blood of lambs and goats,
with[g] the fat of the kidneys of rams,
for Yahweh has a sacrifice[h] in Bozrah
and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And wild oxen shall go down with them,
and steers with strong bulls.
And their land shall be drenched with[i] blood,
and their soil shall be fattened with[j] fat.
8 For Yahweh has a day of vengeance,[k]
a year of retribution for the strife of Zion.
9 And its streams shall be changed to pitch and its soil to sulfur,
and its land shall become like burning pitch.
10 Night and day it shall not be quenched;
its smoke shall go up forever.
From generation to generation it shall be in ruins;
forever and ever there will be no one who passes through her.
11 But[l] the large bird and the hedgehog shall take possession of it,
and the owl and the raven shall live in it.
And he shall stretch the measuring line of confusion out over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—but no kingdom is there—shall call,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And thorns shall go up her citadel fortress,
weeds[m] and thistle plants[n] in her fortresses;
and it shall be the settlement of jackals,
green grass for the daughters of an ostrich.
14 And desert creatures shall meet with hyenas,
and a goat-demon shall call to his neighbor;
surely there Lilith[o] shall repose,
and she shall find a resting place for herself.
15 There the owl shall nest and lay
and hatch and care for her chicks in her shadow;
surely there the birds of prey shall be gathered,
each one with her mate.
16 Seek from the book of Yahweh and read;[p]
none of these shall be missing;
none shall miss her mate.
For my[q] mouth is the one that[r] has commanded,
and his spirit is the one that[s] has gathered them.
17 And he is the one that[t] has cast the lot for them,
and his hand has apportioned it to them with the measuring line;
they shall take possession of it forever,
they shall live in it from generation to generation.[u]
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:3 Or “and”
- Isaiah 34:3 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:4 Or “and”
- Isaiah 34:6 Literally “A sword for Yahweh”
- Isaiah 34:6 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:6 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:6 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:6 Literally “a sacrifice for Yahweh”
- Isaiah 34:7 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:7 Or “from”
- Isaiah 34:8 Literally “a day of vengeance for Yahweh”
- Isaiah 34:11 Or “And”
- Isaiah 34:13 Hebrew “weed”
- Isaiah 34:13 Hebrew “thistle plant”
- Isaiah 34:14 Hebrew transliteration; possibly a proper name for a Mesopotamian night-demon
- Isaiah 34:16 Literally “call”
- Isaiah 34:16 The Dead Sea Scroll has “his”
- Isaiah 34:16 Literally “he”
- Isaiah 34:16 Literally “he”
- Isaiah 34:17 Literally “he”
- Isaiah 34:17 Literally “to generation and generation”
Isaiah 34
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Judgment of the Nations
34 You nations, come here and listen;
you peoples, pay attention!(A)
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,
the world and all that comes from it.(B)
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations—
furious with all their armies.(C)
He will set them apart for destruction,(D)
giving them over to slaughter.
3 Their slain will be thrown out,
and the stench of their corpses will rise;(E)
the mountains will flow[a] with their blood.(F)
4 All[b] the heavenly bodies(G) will dissolve.
The skies will roll up like a scroll,(H)
and their stars will all wither
as leaves wither on the vine,
and foliage on the fig tree.(I)
The Judgment of Edom
5 When My sword has drunk its fill[c](J) in the heavens,
it will then come down on Edom(K)
and on the people I have set apart for destruction.
6 The Lord’s sword is covered with blood.
It drips with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.(L)
For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,(M)
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will be struck[d] down with them,
and young bulls with the mighty bulls.
Their land will be soaked with[e] blood,
and their soil will be saturated with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance,(N)
a time of paying back Edom
for its hostility against Zion.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her soil into sulfur;(O)
her land will become burning pitch.
10 It will never go out—day or night.
Its smoke will go up forever.(P)
It will be desolate, from generation to generation;
no one will pass through it forever and ever.(Q)
11 The desert owl[f] and the screech owl[g] will possess it,
and the great owl and the raven will dwell there.(R)
The Lord will stretch out a measuring line
and a plumb line over her
for her destruction and chaos.(S)
12 No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,
and all her princes will come to nothing.
13 Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;
her fortified cities, with thistles and briers.(T)
She will become a dwelling for jackals,
an abode[h] for ostriches.(U)
14 The desert creatures will meet hyenas,
and one wild goat will call to another.
Indeed, the screech owl will stay there
and will find a resting place for herself.
15 The sand partridge[i] will make her nest there;
she will lay and hatch her eggs
and will gather her brood under her shadow.
Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there,
each with its mate.(V)
16 Search and read the scroll of the Lord:(W)
Not one of them will be missing,
none will be lacking its mate,
because He has ordered it by my[j] mouth,
and He will gather them by His Spirit.
17 He has ordained a lot for them;
His hand allotted their portion with a measuring line.
They will possess it forever;(X)
they will dwell in it from generation to generation.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:3 Or melt, or dissolve
- Isaiah 34:4 DSS read And the valleys will be split, and all
- Isaiah 34:5 DSS read sword will appear
- Isaiah 34:7 Or will go
- Isaiah 34:7 Or will drink its fill of
- Isaiah 34:11 Or The pelican
- Isaiah 34:11 Or the hedgehog
- Isaiah 34:13 DSS, LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads jackals, grass
- Isaiah 34:15 Or The arrow snake, or The owl
- Isaiah 34:16 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, DSS, Syr, Tg read His
Isaiah 34
New King James Version
Judgment on the Nations
34 Come (A)near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
(B)Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the (C)slaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
(D)Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 (E)All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
(F)All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as (G)fruit falling from a fig tree.
5 “For (H)My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it (I)shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6 The (J)sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made [a]overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For (K)the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust [b]saturated with fatness.”
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s (L)vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 (M)Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
(N)Its smoke shall ascend forever.
(O)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (P)But the [c]pelican and the [d]porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And (Q)He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And (R)thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
(S)It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [e]jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also [f]the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.
16 “Search from (T)the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
- Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
- Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
- Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
- Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
- Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
