Isaiah 34:5-17
English Standard Version
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon (A)Edom,
upon the people (B)I have devoted to destruction.
6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
(C)For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 (D)Wild oxen shall (E)fall with them,
and (F)young steers with (G)the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
8 (H)For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 (I)And the streams of Edom[a] shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day (J)it shall not be quenched;
(K)its smoke shall go up forever.
(L)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (M)But the hawk and the porcupine[b] shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
(N)He shall stretch the line of (O)confusion[c] over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 (P)Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of (Q)jackals,
an abode for ostriches.[d]
14 (R)And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird[e] settles
and finds for herself a resting place.
15 There the owl nests and lays
and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;
indeed, there (S)the hawks are gathered,
each one with her mate.
16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
17 (T)He has cast the lot for them;
his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it forever;
from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:9 Hebrew her streams
- Isaiah 34:11 The identity of the animals rendered hawk and porcupine is uncertain
- Isaiah 34:11 Hebrew formlessness
- Isaiah 34:13 Or owls
- Isaiah 34:14 Identity uncertain
Isaiah 34:5-17
Common English Bible
5 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.
6 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.
7 Wild oxen will fall with them,
steers with mighty bulls,
and their land will be drenched with blood;
its soil soaked with fat.
8 The Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of payback for Zion’s cause.
9 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
- Isaiah 34:11 Species uncertain
- Isaiah 34:14 Name of a demon
- Isaiah 34:15 Species uncertain
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible