Isaiah 34–35

The Lord Will Judge the Nations

34Nations, come near and listen to me!

Pay attention to what I’m about to say.

Let the earth and everything in it listen.

Let the world and everything that comes out of it pay attention.

²The Lord is angry with all of the nations.

His anger burns against all of their armies.

He will totally destroy them.

He will have them killed.

³Those who are killed won’t be buried.

Their dead bodies will be thrown on the ground.

They will give off a very bad smell.

Their blood will cover the mountains.

⁴All of the stars in the heavens will vanish.

The sky will be rolled up like a scroll.

All of the stars in the sky will fall like dried-up leaves from a vine.

They will drop like wrinkled figs from a fig tree.

⁵The sword of the Lord will finish its deadly work in the sky.

Then it will come down to strike Edom.

He will totally destroy that nation.

⁶His sword will be red with blood.

It will be covered with fat.

The blood will flow like the blood

of lambs and goats being sacrificed.

The fat will be like the fat

taken from the kidneys of rams.

That’s because the Lord will offer a sacrifice

in the city of Bozrah.

He will kill many people in Edom.

⁷The people and their leaders will be killed

like wild oxen and young bulls.

Their land will be wet with their blood.

The dust will be covered with their fat.

⁸That’s because the Lord has set aside a day to pay Edom back.

He has set aside a year to pay them back for what they did to the city of Zion.

⁹The streams of Edom will be turned into tar.

Its dust will be turned into blazing sulfur.

Its land will become burning tar.

¹⁰The fire will keep burning night and day.

It can’t be put out.

Its smoke will go up forever.

Edom will lie empty for all time to come.

No one will ever travel through it again.

¹¹The desert owl and screech owl will make it their home.

The great owl and the raven will build their nests there.

God will use his measuring line

to show how completely Edom will be destroyed.

He will use his plumb line

to show how empty Edom will become.

¹²Edom’s nobles won’t have anything left there

that can be called a kingdom.

All of its princes will vanish.

¹³Thorns will cover its forts.

Bushes and weeds will cover its safest places.

It will become a home for wild dogs.

It will become a place where owls live.

¹⁴Desert creatures will meet with hyenas.

Wild goats will call out to each other.

Night creatures will also sleep there.

They will find places where they can rest.

¹⁵Owls will make their nests and lay their eggs there.

And they will hatch them.

They will take care of their little ones

under the shadow of their wings.

Male and female falcons will also gather there.

¹⁶Look in the scroll of the Lord. There you will read that

none of those animals will be missing.

Male and female alike will be there.

The Lord himself has commanded it.

And his Spirit will gather them together.

¹⁷The Lord will decide what part of the land goes to each animal.

Then he will give each one its share.

It will belong to them forever.

And they will live there for all time to come.

The Lord Will Set His People Free

35The desert and the dry ground will be glad.

The dry places will be full of joy.

Flowers will grow there.

Like the first crocus in the spring,

²the desert will bloom with flowers.

It will be very glad and shout with joy.

The glorious beauty of Lebanon will be given to it.

It will be as beautiful as the rich lands

of Carmel and Sharon.

Everyone will see the glory of the Lord.

They will see the beauty of our God.

³Strengthen the hands of those who are weak.

Help those whose knees give way.

⁴Say to those whose hearts are afraid,

“Be strong. Do not fear.

Your God will come.

He will pay your enemies back.

He will come to save you.”

⁵Then the eyes of those who are blind will be opened.

The ears of those who can’t hear will be unplugged.

⁶Those who can’t walk will leap like a deer.

And those who can’t speak will shout with joy.

Water will pour out in dry places.

Streams will flow in the desert.

⁷The burning sand will become a pool of water.

The thirsty ground will become bubbling springs.

In the places where wild dogs once lay down,

tall grass and papyrus will grow.

⁸A wide road will go through the land.

It will be called The Way of Holiness.

Only those who are pure and clean can travel on it.

Only those who lead a holy life can use it.

Evil and foolish people can’t walk on it.

⁹No lions will use it.

No wild animals will be on it.

None of them will be there.

Only people who have been set free will walk on it.

¹⁰Those the Lord has saved will return to their land.

They will sing as they enter the city of Zion.

Joy that lasts forever will be

like beautiful crowns on their heads.

They will be filled with gladness and joy.

Sorrow and sighing will be gone.