Isaiah 34:5-17
New English Translation
5 He says,[a] “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers.[b]
Look, it now descends on Edom,[c]
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered[d] with fat;
it drips[e] with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered[f] with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice[g] in Bozrah,[h]
a bloody[i] slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered[j] along with them,
as well as strong bulls.[k]
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge,[l]
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion.[m]
9 Edom’s[n] streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
10 Night and day it will burn;[o]
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland,
and no one will ever pass through it again.
11 Owls and wild animals[p] will live there,[q]
all kinds of wild birds[r] will settle in it.
The Lord[s] will stretch out over her
the measuring line of ruin
and the plumb line[t] of destruction.[u]
12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom,
and all her officials will disappear.[v]
13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;
thickets and weeds will grow[w] in her fortified cities.
Jackals will settle there;
ostriches will live there.[x]
14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there;[y]
wild goats will bleat to one another.[z]
Yes, nocturnal animals[aa] will rest there
and make for themselves a nest.[ab]
15 Owls[ac] will make nests and lay eggs[ad] there;
they will hatch them and protect them.[ae]
Yes, hawks[af] will gather there,
each with its mate.
16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord![ag]
Not one of these creatures will be missing,[ah]
none will lack a mate.[ai]
For the Lord has issued the decree,[aj]
and his own spirit gathers them.[ak]
17 He assigns them their allotment;[al]
he measures out their assigned place.[am]
They will live there[an] permanently;
they will settle in it through successive generations.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:5 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
- Isaiah 34:5 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
- Isaiah 34:5 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
- Isaiah 34:6 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
- Isaiah 34:6 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 34:6 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 34:6 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
- Isaiah 34:6 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
- Isaiah 34:6 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
- Isaiah 34:7 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
- Isaiah 34:7 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
- Isaiah 34:8 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
- Isaiah 34:8 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
- Isaiah 34:9 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Isaiah 34:10 tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”
- Isaiah 34:11 tn קָאַת (qaʾat) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).
- Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).
- Isaiah 34:11 tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof veʿorev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.
- Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Isaiah 34:11 tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.
- Isaiah 34:11 sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.
- Isaiah 34:12 tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”
- Isaiah 34:13 tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Isaiah 34:13 tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsaa) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)
- Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”
- Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”
- Isaiah 34:14 tn The precise meaning of לִילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”
- Isaiah 34:14 tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”
- Isaiah 34:15 tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:15 tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.
- Isaiah 34:15 tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”
- Isaiah 34:15 tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.
- Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”sn It is uncertain what particular scroll is referred to here. Perhaps the phrase simply refers to this prophecy and is an admonition to pay close attention to the details of the message.
- Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
- Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”
- Isaiah 34:16 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi yehvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).
- Isaiah 34:16 tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
- Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).
- Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.
- Isaiah 34:17 tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”
Isaiah 34:5-17
World English Bible
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky.
Behold, it will come down on Edom,
and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
6 Yahweh’s sword is filled with blood.
It is covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams;
for Yahweh has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will come down with them,
and the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
and their land will be drunken with blood,
and their dust made greasy with fat.
8 For Yahweh has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 Its streams will be turned into pitch,
its dust into sulfur,
And its land will become burning pitch.
10 It won’t be quenched night or day.
Its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation, it will lie waste.
No one will pass through it forever and ever.
11 But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it.
The owl and the raven will dwell in it.
He will stretch the line of confusion over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there;
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 Thorns will come up in its palaces,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses;
and it will be a habitation of jackals,
a court for ostriches.
14 The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves,
and the wild goat will cry to his fellow.
Yes, the night creature[a] shall settle there,
and shall find herself a place of rest.
15 The arrow snake will make her nest there,
and lay, hatch, and gather under her shade.
Yes, the kites will be gathered there, every one with her mate.
16 Search in the book of Yahweh, and read:
not one of these will be missing.
None will lack her mate.
For my mouth has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
and his hand has divided it to them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever.
From generation to generation they will dwell in it.
Footnotes
- 34:14 literally, lilith, which could also be a night demon or night monster
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