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
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
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