Isaiah 34

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

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 indignation of the Lord is [enkindled] over all the nations, and his fury over all their army: he hath devoted them, he hath given them up to the slaughter:

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 And their slain also shall be cast out, and as regardeth their carcasses their stench shall ascend upward, and the mountains shall be melted through their blood.

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 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together like a book: and all their host shall wither, as the leaf withereth from the vine, and as withering fruit from the fig-tree.

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.

5 For my sword is sated in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people I have devoted to punishment.

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 sword of the Lord is full of blood, it is enriched with fat, 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 Edom.

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 And wild oxen shall sink down with them, and steers with bullocks; and their land shall be sated with blood, and their dust enriched with fat.

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 it is the day of vengeance unto the Lord, and the year of recompense for the controversy of Zion.

For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 And its brooks shall be changed into pitch, and its dust into sulfur, and its land shall become burning pitch.

Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, and its land will become burning pitch.

10 Night and day shall it not be quenched; for ever shall ascend the smoke thereof: from generation to generation shall it lie waste; no one shall for ever and ever pass through it.

It will not 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 pelican and hedgehog shall take possession of it; night-owl also and raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out over it the line of destruction, and the weights of desolation.

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 Their nobles—no one is there they could call [to] the kingdom, and all its princes shall be no more.

They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And thorns shall spring up in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses: and it shall be a habitation of monsters, and a court for ostriches.

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 And the martens shall meet with the jackals, and one goat shall call to his fellow; only the screech-owl shall rest there, and find for herself a place of repose.

The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves, and the wild goat will cry to his fellow. Yes, the night creature shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.

15 There shall nestle the arrow-snake, and lay eggs, and hatch, and gather its young under its shadow: only vultures shall assemble there, every one with her mate.

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 Inquire out of the book of the Lord, and read: not one of these shall be absent, not one shall miss her mate; for my mouth it is that hath ordained it, and its breath it is that hath gathered them.

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

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.