Isaiah 34
The LORD summons all nations to hear His fury. His sword will come down on Edom, and the land will become burning pitch. The streams of Edom will be turned to pitch, its dust to brimstone, and it will not be quenched night or day. The wild beasts of the desert will possess it forever.
| v | King James Version | Modern English |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. | Draw near, O nations, to hear; listen, O peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it — the world and all that comes from it. |
| 2 | For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. | For the LORD is enraged against all the nations and furious against all their armies. He has devoted them to destruction and given them over to slaughter. |
| 3 | Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. | Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise. The mountains shall flow with their blood. |
| 4 | And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree. | All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies shall roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall like leaves falling from the vine — like leaves falling from the fig tree. |
| 5 | For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. | For My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; it shall come down on Edom — on the people I have given over to judgment. |
| 6 | The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea. | The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood; it is gorged with fat — the blood of lambs and goats, the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. |
| 7 | And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness. | The unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls. Their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made rich with fat. |
| 8 | For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. | For the LORD has a day of vengeance — a year of recompense for the cause of Zion. |
| 9 | And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. | Its streams shall be turned into pitch and its soil into sulfur; its land shall become burning pitch. |
| 10 | It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. | Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. |
| 11 | But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness. | The cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. He shall stretch over it the line of confusion and the stones of emptiness. |
| 12 | They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom, but none shall be there, and all her princes shall be nothing. | Its nobles shall be nothing; they shall call the kingdom itself nothing. All its princes shall come to nothing. |
| 13 | And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be an habitation of dragons, and a court for owls. | Thorns shall grow over its strongholds, nettles and brambles in its fortresses. It shall be a home for dragons and a court for owls. |
| 14 | The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest. | The wild beasts of the desert shall meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to His fellow. The screech owl shall rest there and find herself a place of rest. |
| 15 | There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate. | There the great owl shall make her nest and lay and hatch, and gather her young under her shadow. There shall the vultures be gathered, every one with her mate. |
| 16 | Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them. | Seek and read from the book of the LORD: not one of these shall be missing; none shall be without her mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them. |
| 17 | And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein. | He has cast the lot for them; his hand has apportioned it to them with the measuring line. They shall possess it forever; from generation to generation they shall dwell in it. |