Isaiah 34
Expanded Bible
God Will Punish His Enemies
34 All you nations, come near and listen.
Pay attention, you peoples!
The earth and ·everything in it [all it contains] should listen,
the world and all ·the people in it [its offspring].
2 The Lord is angry with all the nations;
he is ·angry [furious] with their armies.
He will ·destroy them [devote them to destruction; Josh. 6:21] and ·kill them all [turn them over for slaughter].
3 Their bodies will be thrown outside.
The ·stink [stench] will rise from the ·bodies [corpses],
and the blood will flow down the mountains.
4 ·The sun, moon, and stars [L All the hosts/armies of heaven] will dissolve [Joel 2:31; Matt. 24:29; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:13–14],
and the ·sky [heavens] will be rolled up like a scroll.
·The stars [L All their hosts] will fall
like dead leaves from a vine
or dried-up figs from a fig tree.
5 The Lord’s sword in the ·sky [heavens] ·is covered with [has drunk its fill of] blood.
It will ·cut through [L descend upon] Edom
and ·destroy those people as an offering to the Lord [on the people who are devoted to destruction for judgment; v. 2; Josh. 6:21].
6 The Lord’s sword will be covered with blood;
it will be covered with fat,
with the blood from lambs and goats,
with the fat from the kidneys of ·sheep [rams].
This is because the Lord ·decided there will be [L has] a sacrifice in Bozrah [C the capital of Edom]
and ·much killing [a great slaughter] in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen will ·be killed [L fall with them],
and the ·cattle [or young bulls] and the strong ·bulls [L ones; C perhaps referring to Edom’s leaders].
The land will ·be filled with [drink its fill of] their blood,
and the dirt will be covered with their fat.
8 The Lord has chosen a time for punishment.
He has chosen a year ·when people must pay [of retribution/recompense] for the ·wrongs they did to [or the cause of] ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple].
9 Edom’s rivers will be like ·hot tar [pitch].
Its ·dirt [dust] will be like ·burning sulfur [T brimstone].
Its land will be like burning ·tar [pitch].
10 The fires will ·burn [L not be quenched] night and day;
the smoke will rise from Edom forever.
·Year after year [L From generation to generation] that land will be ·empty [desolate];
no one will ever ·travel [pass] through that land again.
11 ·Birds [Desert owls; or Pelicans] and ·small animals [screech owl; or porcupine] will own that land,
and owls and ravens will live there.
·God [L He] will ·make it an empty wasteland [L stretch over it a measuring line of confusion/chaos];
·it will have nothing left in it [L and the plumb line of desolation; C like a careful craftsman, God has planned Edom’s judgment].
12 The ·important people [nobles] will have ·no one left to rule them [or nothing to call a kingdom];
the ·leaders [officials; princes] will ·all be gone [or be nothing].
13 Thorns will ·take over [overrun] the ·strong towers [strongholds; citadels],
and wild bushes will grow in the ·walled cities [fortresses].
It will be a home for ·wild dogs [jackals]
and a place for ·owls [or ostriches] to live.
14 Desert animals will live with the hyenas,
and wild goats will call to their friends.
Night animals will live there
and find a place of rest.
15 Owls will nest there and lay eggs.
When they hatch open, the owls will gather their young under their ·wings [L shadow].
Hawks will gather
with ·their own kind [or its mate].
16 ·Look at [L Search] the Lord’s scroll and read what is written there:
None of these will be missing;
none will be without its mate.
·God [L For his mouth] has given the command,
so his Spirit will gather them together.
17 God has ·divided the land among [or cast the lot for] them,
and he has ·given [measured to] them each their portion.
So they will ·own [possess] that land forever
and will live there ·year after year [from generation to generation].
Isaiah 34
King James Version
34 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
9 And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall 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.
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.
12 They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Isaiah 34
New King James Version
Judgment on the Nations
34 Come (A)near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
(B)Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to the (C)slaughter.
3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;
(D)Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 (E)All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
(F)All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as (G)fruit falling from a fig tree.
5 “For (H)My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it (I)shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
6 The (J)sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made [a]overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For (K)the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust [b]saturated with fatness.”
8 For it is the day of the Lord’s (L)vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 (M)Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night or day;
(N)Its smoke shall ascend forever.
(O)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (P)But the [c]pelican and the [d]porcupine shall possess it,
Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
And (Q)He shall stretch out over it
The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,
But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And (R)thorns shall come up in its palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;
(S)It shall be a habitation of jackals,
A courtyard for ostriches.
14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the [e]jackals,
And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;
Also [f]the night creature shall rest there,
And find for herself a place of rest.
15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs
And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;
There also shall the hawks be gathered,
Every one with her mate.
16 “Search from (T)the book of the Lord, and read:
Not one of these shall fail;
Not one shall lack her mate.
For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.
17 He has cast the lot for them,
And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.
They shall possess it forever;
From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:6 Lit. fat
- Isaiah 34:7 Lit. made fat
- Isaiah 34:11 Or owl
- Isaiah 34:11 Or hedgehog
- Isaiah 34:14 Lit. howling creatures
- Isaiah 34:14 Heb. lilith
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
