Isaiah 34

Judgment on the Nations

1 Draw near, v 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 w devoted them to destruction, 1 has given them over for slaughter.
3 Their slain shall be cast out,
and x the stench of their corpses shall rise;
y the mountains shall flow with their blood.
4 z 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 a Edom,
upon the people b 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.
c For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 d Wild oxen shall e fall with them,
and f young steers with f the mighty bulls.
Their land shall drink its fill of blood,
and their soil shall be gorged with fat.

8 g For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9 h And the streams of Edom 2 shall be turned into pitch,
and her soil into sulfur;
her land shall become burning pitch.
10 Night and day i it shall not be quenched;
j its smoke shall go up forever.
k From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it forever and ever.
11 l But the hawk and the porcupine 3 shall possess it,
the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.
m He shall stretch the line of n confusion 4 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 o Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,
nettles and thistles in its fortresses.
It shall be the haunt of p jackals,
an abode for ostriches. 5
14 q And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;
the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;
indeed, there the night bird 6 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 r 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 s 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.

  1. Cross References
    Psalms 49:1
    Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world.
    Joel 3:1 - 2
    For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem.
  2. Cross References
    Joshua 6:21
    Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword.
  3. Cross References
    Joel 2:20
    I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.
  4. Cross References
    Ezekiel 39:4
    You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your hordes and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
  5. Cross References
    Joel 2:31
    The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the mo...
    Joel 3:15
    The sun and the moon are darkened, and the star...
    Matthew 24:29
    Immediately after the tribulation of those days...
    Acts 2:20
    The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moo...
    Revelation 6:13 - 14
    And the stars of the sky fell to the earth as t...
    Psalms 102:26
    They will perish, but you will remain; they wil...
    Hebrews 1:11
    They will perish, but you remain; they will all...
  6. Cross References
    Isaiah 63:1 - 6
    Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.
    Jeremiah 49:7 - 22
    Concerning Edom. Thus says the Lord of hosts: "Is wisdom no more in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom vanished?
    Obadiah 1:1 - 21
    The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!
    Malachi 1:2 - 4
    I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
  7. Cross References
    Isaiah 34:2
    For the Lord is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
  8. Cross References
    Isaiah 63:1
    Who is this who comes from Edom, in crimsoned garments from Bozrah, he who is splendid in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save.
  9. Cross References
    Numbers 23:22
    God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
  10. Cross References
    Isaiah 47:1
    Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
  11. Cross References
    Psalms 22:12
    Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
  12. Cross References
    Psalms 22:12
    Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
  13. Cross References
    Isaiah 61:2
    To proclaim the year of the Lord 's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.
    Isaiah 63:4
    For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption had come.
    Psalms 137:7
    Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, "Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 29:23
    The whole land burned out with brimstone and salt, nothing sown and nothing growing, where no plant can sprout, an overthrow like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger and wrath -
  15. Cross References
    Isaiah 66:24
    "And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."
  16. Cross References
    Revelation 14:11
    And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.
    Revelation 18:18
    And cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?
    Revelation 19:3
    Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.
  17. Cross References
    Malachi 1:4
    If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called 'the wicked country,' and 'the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.'
  18. Cross References
    Isaiah 14:23
    And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog, and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction," declares the Lord of hosts.
    Zephaniah 2:14
    Herds shall lie down in her midst, all kinds of beasts; even the owl and the hedgehog shall lodge in her capitals; a voice shall hoot in the window; devastation will be on the threshold; for her cedar work will be laid bare.
    Revelation 18:2
    And he called out with a mighty voice, "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.
  19. Cross References
    2 Kings 21:13
    And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.
    Lamentations 2:8
    The Lord determined to lay in ruins the wall of the daughter of Zion; he stretched out the measuring line; he did not restrain his hand from destroying; he caused rampart and wall to lament; they languished together.
    Amos 7:7 - 9
    This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand.
  20. Cross References
    Isaiah 24:10
    The wasted city is broken down; every house is shut up so that none can enter.
  21. Cross References
    Isaiah 32:13
    For the soil of my people growing up in thorns and briers, yes, for all the joyous houses in the exultant city.
  22. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:22
    Hyenas will cry in its towers, and jackals in the pleasant palaces; its time is close at hand and its days will not be prolonged.
    Psalms 44:19
    Yet you have broken us in the place of jackals and covered us with the shadow of death.
    Malachi 1:3
    But Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.
  23. Cross References
    Isaiah 13:21
    But wild animals will lie down there, and their houses will be full of howling creatures; there ostriches will dwell, and there wild goats will dance.
  24. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 14:13
    The kite, the falcon of any kind.
  25. Cross References
    Psalms 78:55
    He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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