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God Will Punish the Nations

34 Come near, O nations, to hear! Listen, O people! Let the earth and all that is in it listen, the world and all that comes from it. For the Lord’s anger is against all the nations. And His anger is against all their armies. He has destroyed all of them. He has given them over to be killed. Their dead will be thrown out. Their dead bodies will give off a bad smell. The mountains will flow with their blood. All the stars of the heavens will waste away. And the sky will be rolled up like writings. All that are in them will waste away also, as a leaf dries up from the vine, or as one dries up from the fig tree. For My sword has drunk its fill in heaven. See, it will come down to punish Edom. It will come down upon the people whom I have given over to be destroyed. The sword of the Lord is covered with blood. It is filled with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, and with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a killing in Bozrah, and much killing in the land of Edom. Wild oxen will fall with them, and young bulls with strong ones. So their land will be filled with blood, and their dust will become rich with fat. For the Lord has a day when He will punish, a year when He pays back which will help Zion. Edom’s rivers will be turned into tar, and its dust into sulphur. Her land will become burning tar. 10 Its fire will not be put out night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From one family to their children’s children and on into the future, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever. 11 But the pelican and hedgehog will have it for their own. The owl and raven will live in it. The Lord will make it into an empty waste land. 12 Its rulers will be gone. And no kings will be named there. All their rulers will be no more. 13 Thorns will grow in its strong towers. Thistles will grow in cities where battles were fought. It will be a place for wild dogs, and a home for ostriches. 14 The desert animals will meet with the wolves. The wild goats will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-demon will stop there and find a resting place. 15 The snake will make its nest and lay eggs there. Her young will be born from the eggs and she will gather them under her shadow. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, every one with its kind.

16 Look in the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these will be missing. None will be without its mate. For the mouth of the Lord has said so, and His Spirit has gathered them. 17 He will divide the land among them and give each of them a share. It will be theirs forever. From one family to their children’s children and on into the future, they will live in it.

Judgment Against the Nations

34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(A)
    pay attention, you peoples!(B)
Let the earth(C) hear, and all that is in it,
    the world, and all that comes out of it!(D)
The Lord is angry with all nations;
    his wrath(E) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[a](F) them,
    he will give them over to slaughter.(G)
Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
    their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
    the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(L)
    and the heavens rolled up(M) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(N)
    like withered(O) leaves from the vine,
    like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

My sword(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(Q)
    the people I have totally destroyed.(R)
The sword(S) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(T) in Bozrah(U)
    and a great slaughter(V) in the land of Edom.
And the wild oxen(W) will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.(X)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(Y)
    and the dust will be soaked with fat.

For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
    a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;(AC)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(AD) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.(AE)
From generation to generation(AF) it will lie desolate;(AG)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[b](AH) and screech owl[c] will possess it;
    the great owl[d] and the raven(AI) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(AJ)
    the measuring line of chaos(AK)
    and the plumb line(AL) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes(AM) will vanish(AN) away.
13 Thorns(AO) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AQ)
    a home for owls.(AR)
14 Desert creatures(AS) will meet with hyenas,(AT)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AU) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;(AV)
there also the falcons(AW) will gather,
    each with its mate.

16 Look in the scroll(AX) of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,(AY)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AZ) that has given the order,(BA)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(BB)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.(BC)

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
  2. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  4. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.