Isaiah 34

1 “Come near, you nations, to listen, and pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes out of it.ISV — Isaiah 34:1

2 For the LORD is angry against all the nations, and furious against all their armies. He has doomed them to destruction, and ^{a34:2 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks and} given them up to be slaughtered. ^{b34:2 So 1QIsaa; MT LXX read for slaughter}ISV — Isaiah 34:2

3 Their slain ^{c34:3 Or mortally wounded} will be thrown out; and as for their dead bodies— their stench will ascend; the ^{d34:3 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks the} mountains will be soaked with their blood.ISV — Isaiah 34:3

4 The valleys will be split, all the stars ^{e34:4 Lit. host} in the heavens will fall down, ^{f34:4 So 1QIsaa; MT reads All the stars of the heavens will rot away ; LXX lacks this line} and the skies will be rolled up like a scroll. All their starry host will fade away like leaves withering on a vine, or fruit withering on a fig tree.ISV — Isaiah 34:4

5 For my sword will be seen ^{g34:5 So 1QIsaa; MT reads has drunk its fill; cf. LXX} in the heavens. Look! It descends in judgment on Edom, on the people I have doomed to destruction.ISV — Isaiah 34:5

6 The LORD has a sword bathed in blood; it’s covered ^{h34:6 Or satiated} with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, and with fat from the kidneys of rams.” “For the LORD holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.ISV — Isaiah 34:6

7 Wild oxen will fall together with them— young steers and mighty bulls. Their land will be drenched ^{i34:7 So 1QIsaa LXX; MT reads drench} with blood, and their soil will be swollen with fat.ISV — Isaiah 34:7

8 For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for Zion’s cause.ISV — Isaiah 34:8

9 Edom’s ^{j34:9 Lit. Its} streams will be turned into burning sulfur, and its dust into sulfur; its land will become pitch.ISV — Isaiah 34:9

10 It will burn night and day, and will never be extinguished. Its smoke will rise from generation to generation, and it will lie desolate forever and ever. And no one will pass through it. ^{k34:10 So 1QIsaa; MT reads blazing pitch. Night and day it will not be extinguished. Its smoke will go up forever; from generation to generation it will lie desolate. No one will ever pass through it again. LXX lacks the last line}ISV — Isaiah 34:10

11 “But hawks and hedgehogs will possess it; owls and ravens will nest in it. God ^{l34:11 Lit. He} will stretch out over it a measuring line, and chaos, ^{m34:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads a measuring line of chaos} and plumb lines of emptiness, and its nobles. ^{n34:11 So 1QIsaa; MT reads And plumb lines of emptiness are 12its nobles; LXX reads and satyrs will live in it. 12Its nobles}ISV — Isaiah 34:11

12 They will name it “No Kingdom There,” and all its princes will come to nothing.ISV — Isaiah 34:12

13 Thorns will grow over its palaces, nettles and brambles its fortresses. It will become a haunt for jackals, a home for ostriches.ISV — Isaiah 34:13

14 And desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and goat-demons will call out to each other. There also Liliths ^{o34:14 i.e. desert demons of the night} will settle, and find for themselves ^{p34:14 So 1QIsaa; MT reads The Lilith will settle, and find for itself} a resting place.ISV — Isaiah 34:14

15 Owls ^{q34:15 Or tree-snakes; LXX reads Hedgehogs} will nest there, lay eggs, hatch them, and care for their young under the shadow of their wings; ^{r34:15 Lit. in her shadow} yes ^{s34:15 So 1QIsaa; MT lacks yes} indeed, vultures will gather there, each one with its mate.”ISV — Isaiah 34:15

16 “Study and read from the book of the LORD: And not one ^{t34:16 So 1QIsaa; MT reads Not one of them} will be missing, each will not long for its mate. ^{u34:16 So MT; 1QIsaa reads each its mate} For it is the mouth of the LORD that has issued the order, and it is his Spirit that has gathered them.ISV — Isaiah 34:16

17 It is he who has allotted their portions, ^{v34:17 Lit. has cast the lot for them} and his hand has divided it for them with a measuring line forever. ^{w34:17 So 1QIsaa; the Heb. lacks forever} They will possess it forever; ^{x34:17 So MT; 1QIsaa lacks Forever} from generation to generation they will live in it.” ^{y34:17 So MT; 1QIsaa corrector reads will they possess … live in it.}ISV — Isaiah 34:17