Isaiah 34
Revised Geneva Translation
34 Come near, you nations and hear! And listen, you people! Let the Earth hear and all that is therein, the world and all that proceeds from it.
2 For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and wrath upon all their armies. He has destroyed them, delivered them to the slaughter.
3 And their slain shall be cast out. And their stink shall come up out of their bodies. And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 And all the host of Heaven shall be dissolved. And the heavens shall be folded like a book. And all their hosts shall fall, as the leaf falls from the vine, and as it falls from the fig tree.
5 “For My sword shall be quenched in Heaven. Behold, it shall come down upon Edom, even upon the people of My curse, to judgment.”
6 The sword of the LORD is filled with blood. It prospers with the fat, with the blood of the lambs and the goats, with the fat of the kidneys of the rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen shall come down with them, and the heifers with the bulls. And their land shall be drenched with blood, and their dust made to prosper with fatness.
8 For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, the year of recompense for the judgment of Zion.
9 And its rivers shall be turned into tar, and its dust into brimstone. And its land shall be burning tar.
10 It shall not be quenched, night or day. Its smoke shall go up forever. It shall be desolate from generation to generation. No one shall pass through it, forever and ever.
11 But the pelican and the hedgehog shall possess it. And the great owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.
12 Its nobles shall call to the kingdom and there shall be none. And all its princes shall be nothing.
13 And it shall bring forth thorns in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its strongholds. And it shall be a home for serpents, and a court for unclean birds.
14 Also, the wild beasts of the desert shall meet the jackals there. And the wild goat shall cry to his companion. And the night demon shall rest there and shall find for herself a quiet dwelling.
15 There shall the owl make her nest and lay and hatch and gather them under her shadow. There shall the vultures also be gathered, each one with her mate.
16 Seek in the Book of the LORD and read. None of these shall fail. None shall want for a mate. For His Mouth has Commanded, and His very Spirit has gathered them.
17 And He has cast the lot for them. And His Hand has divided to them by line. They shall possess it forever. From generation to generation shall they dwell in it.
Isaiah 34
English Standard Version
Judgment on the Nations
34 Draw near, (A)O nations, to hear,
and give attention, O peoples!
Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;
the world, and all that comes from it.
2 For the Lord is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host;
he has (B)devoted them to destruction,[a] has given them over for slaughter.
3 Their slain shall be cast out,
and (C)the stench of their corpses shall rise;
(D)the mountains shall flow with their blood.
4 (E)All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.
5 For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;
behold, it descends for judgment upon (F)Edom,
upon the people (G)I have devoted to destruction.
6 The Lord has a sword; it is sated with blood;
it is gorged with fat,
with the blood of lambs and goats,
with the fat of the kidneys of rams.
(H)For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 (I)Wild oxen shall (J)fall with them,
and (K)young steers with (L)the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.
8 (M)For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 (N)And the streams of Edom[b] shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day (O)it shall not be quenched;
(P)its smoke shall go up forever.
(Q)From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 (R)But the hawk and the porcupine[c] shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
(S)He shall stretch the line of (T)confusion[d] over it,
and the plumb line of emptiness.
12 Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,
and all its princes shall be nothing.
13 (U)Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of (V)jackals,
an abode for ostriches.[e]
14 (W)And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird[f] settles
and finds for herself a resting place.
15 There the owl nests and lays
and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;
indeed, there (X)the hawks are gathered,
each one with her mate.
16 Seek and read from the book of the Lord:
Not one of these shall be missing;
none shall be without her mate.
For the mouth of the Lord has commanded,
and his Spirit has gathered them.
17 (Y)He has cast the lot for them;
his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;
they shall possess it forever;
from generation to generation they shall dwell in it.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:2 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 5
- Isaiah 34:9 Hebrew her streams
- Isaiah 34:11 The identity of the animals rendered hawk and porcupine is uncertain
- Isaiah 34:11 Hebrew formlessness
- Isaiah 34:13 Or owls
- Isaiah 34:14 Identity uncertain
© 2019, 2024 by Five Talents Audio. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
