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The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

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- Chapter 34 -

1
Come near, O nations, to listen; pay attention, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all that springs from it.
2
The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction;(a) He will give them over to slaughter.
3
Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.
4
All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.

Judgment on Edom

(Isaiah 21:11–12)
5
When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
6
The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat— with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7
And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
8
For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.(b)
9
Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.
10
It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.
11
The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it.(c) The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.
12
No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.
13
Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals,(d) an abode for ostriches.(e)
14
The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature (f) will settle and find her place of repose.
15
There the owl will make her nest; she will lay and hatch her eggs and gather her brood under her shadow. Even there the birds of prey will gather, each with its mate.
16
Search and read the scroll of the LORD: Not one of these will go missing, not one will lack her mate, because He has ordered it by His mouth, and He will gather them by His Spirit.
17
He has allotted their portion; His hand has distributed it by measure. They will possess it forever; they will dwell in it from generation to generation.

Footnotes

(a)34:2 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in verse 5.
(b)34:8 Or of recompense for (Edom’s) hostility against Zion.
(c)34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
(d)34:13 Or serpents or dragons
(e)34:13 Literally for daughters of an ostrich or for daughters of an owl
(f)34:14 Hebrew Lilith
1
Come near, you nations, to hear! Listen, you peoples. Let the earth and all it contains hear, the world, and everything that comes from it.
2
For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and angry with all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over for slaughter.
3
Their slain will also be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies will come up. The mountains will melt in their blood.
4
All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.

Judgment on Edom

(Isaiah 21:11–12)
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
The LORD’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 the LORD 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 the LORD 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 the LORD, 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

(a)34:14 literally, lilith, which could also be a night demon or night monster
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