Isaiah 34:5–17

⁵My sword^t has drunk its fill in the heavens;

see, it descends in judgment on Edom,^u

the people I have totally destroyed.^v

⁶The sword^w 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^x in Bozrah^y

and a great slaughter^z in the land of Edom.

⁷And the wild oxen^a will fall with them,

the bull calves and the great bulls.^b

Their land will be drenched with blood,^c

and the dust will be soaked with fat.

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

a year of retribution,^f to uphold Zion’s cause.

⁹Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,

her dust into burning sulfur;^g

her land will become blazing pitch!

¹⁰It will not be quenched^h night or day;

its smoke will rise forever.ⁱ

From generation to generation^j it will lie desolate;^k

no one will ever pass through it again.

¹¹The desert owl^bl and screech owl^c will possess it;

the great owl^d and the raven^m will nest there.

God will stretch out over Edomⁿ

the measuring line of chaos^o

and the plumb line^p of desolation.

¹²Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,

all her princes^q will vanish^r away.

¹³Thorns^s will overrun her citadels,

nettles and brambles her strongholds.^t

She will become a haunt for jackals,^u

a home for owls.^v

¹⁴Desert creatures^w will meet with hyenas,^x

and wild goats will bleat to each other;

there the night creatures^y 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;^z

there also the falcons^a will gather,

each with its mate.

¹⁶Look in the scroll^b of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,^c

not one will lack her mate.

For it is his mouth^d that has given the order,^e

and his Spirit will gather them together.

¹⁷He allots their portions;^f

his hand distributes them by measure.

They will possess it forever

and dwell there from generation to generation.^g