Isaiah 34:1-35:10

Judgment Against the Nations 1Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!

2The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their armies. He will totally destroy The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5. them, he will give them over to slaughter.

3Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will be soaked with their blood.

4All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

5My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed.

6The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat.

8For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause.

9Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch!

10It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again.

11The desert owl The precise identification of these birds is uncertain. and screech owl The precise identification of these birds is uncertain. will possess it; the great owl The precise identification of these birds is uncertain. and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation.

12Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away.

13Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.

14Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest.

15The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.

16Look in the scroll of the LORD and read: None of these will be missing, not one will lack her mate. For it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together. 17He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.

Joy of the Redeemed 1The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus,

2it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

3Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way;

4say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

5Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

6Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.

7The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

8And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

9No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10and those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.