Judgment on the Nations

34 Come anear, you nations, to hear;

And heed, you people!

bLet the earth hear, and all that is in it,

The world and all things that come forth from it.

2 For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations,

And His fury against all their armies;

He has utterly destroyed them,

He has given them over to the cslaughter.

3 Also their slain shall be thrown out;

dTheir stench shall rise from their corpses,

And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 eAll the host of heaven shall be dissolved,

And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;

fAll their host shall fall down

As the leaf falls from the vine,

And as gfruit falling from a fig tree.

5 “For hMy sword shall be bathed in heaven;

Indeed it ishall come down on Edom,

And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

6 The jsword of the Lord is filled with blood,

It is made 1overflowing with fatness,

With the blood of lambs and goats,

With the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For kthe Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 The wild oxen shall come down with them,

And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;

Their land shall be soaked with blood,

And their dust 2saturated with fatness.”

8 For it is the day of the Lord’s lvengeance,

The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 mIts streams shall be turned into pitch,

And its dust into brimstone;

Its land shall become burning pitch.

10 It shall not be quenched night or day;

nIts smoke shall ascend forever.

oFrom generation to generation it shall lie waste;

No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 pBut the 3pelican and the 4porcupine shall possess it,

Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.

And qHe shall stretch out over it

The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

12 They shall call its nobles to the kingdom,

But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 And rthorns shall come up in its palaces,

Nettles and brambles in its fortresses;

sIt shall be a habitation of jackals,

A courtyard for ostriches.

14 The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the 5jackals,

And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion;

Also 6the night creature shall rest there,

And find for herself a place of rest.

15 There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs

And hatch, and gather them under her shadow;

There also shall the hawks be gathered,

Every one with her mate.

16 “Search from tthe book of the Lord, and read:

Not one of these shall fail;

Not one shall lack her mate.

For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

17 He has cast the lot for them,

And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line.

They shall possess it forever;

From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”

The Future Glory of Zion

35 The awilderness and the 1wasteland shall be glad for them,

And the bdesert 2shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

2 cIt shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,

Even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the dglory of the Lord,

The excellency of our God.

3 eStrengthen the 3weak hands,

And make firm the 4feeble knees.

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with fvengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and gsave you.”

5 Then the heyes of the blind shall be opened,

And ithe ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

6 Then the jlame shall leap like a deer,

And the ktongue of the dumb sing.

For lwaters shall burst forth in the wilderness,

And streams in the desert.

7 The parched ground shall become a pool,

And the thirsty land springs of water;

In mthe habitation of jackals, where each lay,

There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

8 A nhighway shall be there, and a road,

And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.

oThe unclean shall not pass over it,

But it shall be for others.

Whoever walks the road, although a fool,

Shall not go astray.

9 pNo lion shall be there,

Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;

It shall not be found there.

But the redeemed shall walk there,

10 And the qransomed of the Lord shall return,

And come to Zion with singing,

With everlasting joy on their heads.

They shall obtain joy and gladness,

And rsorrow and sighing shall flee away.