Isaiah 34

1 Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.

Come near, you nations, to hear, And you peoples, give attention, The earth and its fullness hear, The world, and all its productions.

2 For the indignation of the LORD [is] upon all nations, and [his] fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

For to YHWH [is] wrath against all the nations, And fury against all their host, He has devoted them to destruction, He has given them to slaughter.

3 Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

And their wounded are cast out, And their carcasses cause their stench to ascend, And mountains have been melted from their blood.

4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig tree.

And all the host of the heavens have been consumed, And the heavens have been rolled together as a scroll, And all their hosts fade, As the fading of a leaf of a vine, And as the fading one of a fig tree.

5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.

For My sword was soaked in the heavens, Behold, it comes down on Edom, On the people of My curse for judgment.

6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.

A sword [is] to YHWH—it has been full of blood, It has been made fat with fatness, With blood of lambs and male goats. With fat of kidneys of rams, For to YHWH [is] a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.

And reems have come down with them, And bullocks with bulls, And their land has been soaked from blood, And their dust is made fat from fatness.

8 For [it is] the day of the LORD’s vengeance, [and] the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

(For a day of vengeance [is] to YHWH, A year of recompenses for Zion’s strife),

9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.

And her streams have been turned to pitch, And her dust to brimstone, And her land has become burning pitch.

10 It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.

She is not quenched by night and by day, Her smoke goes up for all time, She is desolate from generation to generation, Forever and ever, none is passing into her.

11 But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.

And pelican and hedgehog possess her, And owl and raven dwell in her, And He has stretched out over her A line of vacancy, and stones of emptiness.

12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none [shall be] there, and all her princes shall be nothing.

They call her nobles [to] the kingdom, But there are none there, And all her princes are at an end.

13 And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, [and] a court for owls.

And thorns have gone up her palaces, Nettle and bramble [are] in her fortresses, And it has been a habitation of dragons, A court for daughters of an ostrich.

14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.

And desert-dwellers have met with howlers, And the goat calls for its companion, Surely the night-owl has rested there, And has found a place of rest for herself.

15 There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.

The owl has made her nest there, Indeed, she lays, and has hatched, And has gathered under her shadow, Surely vultures have been gathered there, Each with its companion.

16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

Seek out of the scroll of YHWH, and read, One of these has not been lacking, None has missed its companion, For My mouth—it has commanded, And His Spirit—He has gathered them.

17 And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

And He has cast a lot for them, And His hand has apportioned [it] to them by line, They possess it for all time, They dwell in it from generation to generation!