Isaiah 34

1 Draw near, O ye nations, and hear! Attend, O ye people! Let the earth hear, and all that is therein; The world, and all that springs from it!

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 For the wrath of Jehovah is kindled against all the nations, And his fury against all their armies; He hath devoted them to destruction; He hath given them up to slaughter.

The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.

3 Their slain shall be cast out; From their carcasses their stench shall ascend, And the mountains shall flow down with their blood.

Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.

4 And all the hosts of heaven shall melt away; And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll, And all their host shall fall down, As the withered leaf faileth from the vine, As the blighted fruit from the fig-tree.

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.

5 For my sword hath become drunk in heaven; Behold, upon Edom shall it descend, Upon the people under my curse, for vengeance.

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 Jehovah is full of blood; It is covered with fat, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams; For Jehovah holdeth a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

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 The wild buffaloes shall fall down with them. And the bullocks with the bulls; The hind shall be drunk with blood, And the ground enriched with fat.

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 Jehovah holdeth a day of vengeance, A year of recompense in the cause of Zion.

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

9 Her streams shall be turned into pitch, And her dust into brimstone, And her whole land shall become burning pitch.

Edom’s streams will be turned to tar, and her soil to sulfur; her land will become a blazing pitch.

10 Day and night it shall not be quenched; Its smoke shall ascend forever; From generation to generation it shall lie waste; None shall pass through it for ever and ever.

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 pelican and the hedgehog shall possess it; The heron and the raven shall dwell in it; Over it will he draw the measuring-line of destruction. And the plummet of desolation.

The desert owl and screech owl will possess it, and the great owl and raven will dwell in it. The LORD will stretch out over Edom a measuring line of chaos and a plumb line of destruction.

12 Her nobles — none are there, who may proclaim a kingdom, And all her princes have come to naught.

No nobles will be left to proclaim a king, and all her princes will come to nothing.

13 Thorns shall spring up in her palaces; Nettles and thistles in her strongholds. She shall become a habitation for jackals, A court for ostriches.

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns, her fortresses with thistles and briers. She will become a haunt for jackals, an abode for ostriches.

14 The wild-cats shall fall upon the wolves, And the satyr shall call to his fellow; There also shall the night-spectre light, And find a place of rest.

The desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and one wild goat will call to another. There the night creature will settle and find her place of repose.

15 There also shall the arrow-snake make her nest, and lay her eggs; She shall hatch them, and gather her young under her shadow: There also shall the vultures be gathered together, Every one with her mate.

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 ye the book of Jehovah, and read! Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall want her mate; For His mouth, it shall command, And His spirit, it shall gather them.

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 shall cast the lot for them; His hand shall divide it for them with a line; They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation shall they dwell therein.

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.