Isaiah 34–35

The Judgment of the Nations

34You nations, come here and listen;

you peoples, pay attention! ⁱ

Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,

the world and all that comes from it. ^j

²The Lord is angry with all the nations—

furious with all their armies. ^k

He will set them apart for destruction, ^l

giving them over to slaughter.

³Their slain will be thrown out,

and the stench of their corpses will rise; ^m

the mountains will flow ⁿwith their blood. ^o

⁴All ^pthe heavenly bodies ^qwill dissolve.

The skies will roll up like a scroll, ^r

and their stars will all wither

as leaves wither on the vine,

and foliage on the fig tree. ^s

The Judgment of Edom

⁵When My sword has drunk its fill ^tuin the heavens,

it will then come down on Edom ^v

and on the people I have set apart for destruction.

⁶The Lord’s sword is covered with blood.

It drips with fat,

with the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of the kidneys of rams. ^w

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, ^x

a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

⁷The wild oxen will be struck ^ydown with them,

and young bulls with the mighty bulls.

Their land will be soaked with ^zblood,

and their soil will be saturated with fat.

⁸For the Lord has a day of vengeance, ^a

a time of paying back Edom

for its hostility against Zion.

⁹Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,

her soil into sulfur; ^b

her land will become burning pitch.

¹⁰It will never go out—day or night.

Its smoke will go up forever. ^c

It will be desolate, from generation to generation;

no one will pass through it forever and ever. ^d

¹¹The desert owl ^eand the screech owl ^fwill possess it,

and the great owl and the raven will dwell there. ^g

The Lord will stretch out a measuring line

and a plumb line over her

for her destruction and chaos. ^h

¹²No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,

and all her princes will come to nothing.

¹³Her palaces will be overgrown with thorns;

her fortified cities, with thistles and briers. ⁱ

She will become a dwelling for jackals,

an abode ^jfor ostriches. ^k

¹⁴The desert creatures will meet hyenas,

and one wild goat will call to another.

Indeed, the screech owl will stay there

and will find a resting place for herself.

¹⁵The sand partridge ^lwill make her nest there;

she will lay and hatch her eggs

and will gather her brood under her shadow.

Indeed, the birds of prey will gather there,

each with its mate. ^m

¹⁶Search and read the scroll of the Lord: ⁿ

Not one of them will be missing,

none will be lacking its mate,

because He has ordered it by my ^omouth,

and He will gather them by His Spirit.

¹⁷He has ordained a lot for them;

His hand allotted their portion with a measuring line.

They will possess it forever; ^p

they will dwell in it from generation to generation.

The Ransomed Return to Zion

35The wilderness and the dry land will be glad;

the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose. ^qrs

²It will blossom abundantly

and will also rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. ^t

They will see the glory of the Lord, ^u

the splendor of our God. ^v

³Strengthen the weak hands,

steady the shaking knees! ^w

⁴Say to the cowardly:

“Be strong; do not fear!

Here is your God; vengeance is coming. ^x

God’s retribution is coming; He will save you.” ^y

⁵Then the eyes of the blind will be opened,

and the ears of the deaf unstopped. ^z

⁶Then the lame will leap like a deer, ^a

and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, ^b

for water will gush in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert; ^c

⁷the parched ground will become a pool of water,

and the thirsty land springs of water. ^d

In the haunt of jackals, ^ein their lairs,

there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus.

⁸A road will be there and a way; ^f

it will be called the Holy Way. ^g

The unclean will not travel on it, ^h

but it will be for the one who walks the path. ⁱ

Even the fool will not go astray.

⁹There will be no lion there,

and no vicious beast will go up on it;

they will not be found there.

But the redeemed will walk on it,

¹⁰and the redeemed of the Lord will return ^j

and come to Zion with singing,

crowned with unending joy.

Joy and gladness will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee. ^k