Isaiah 34

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

Thorns shall spring up in her palaces; Nettles and thistles in her strongholds. She shall become a habitation for 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 shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.