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The Book of the Prophet Isaiah

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- Chapter 34 -

1
O nations and peoples: draw near, and listen, and pay attention! Let the earth and its fullness hear, the entire world and all its offspring.(a)
2
For the indignation of the Lord is over all the nations, and his fury is over all their armies. He has put them to death, and he has given them over to slaughter.
3
Their slain will be cast out, and from their carcasses a foul odor will rise up. The mountains will languish because of their blood.
4
And the entire army of the heavens will languish, and the heavens will be folded like a book. And their entire army will fall away, as a leaf falls from the vine or from the fig tree.(b)

Judgment on Edom

(Isaiah 21:11–12)
5
“For my sword in heaven has been inebriated. Behold, it will descend upon Idumea, and upon the people of my slaughter, unto judgment.”(c)
6
The sword of the Lord has been filled with blood. It has been thickened by the blood of lambs and he-goats, by the innermost blood of rams. For the victim of the Lord is in Bozrah, and a great slaughter is in the land of Edom.
7
And the single-horned beasts will descend with them, and the bulls along with the mighty. Their land will be inebriated by blood, and their ground by the fat of their lazy ones.(d)
8
For this is the day of the vengeance of the Lord, the year of retribution for the judgment of Zion.(e)
9
And its torrents will be turned into tar, and its soil into sulfur. And its land will become burning tar.
10
Night and day, it will not be extinguished; its smoke will rise up without ceasing. From generation to generation it will remain desolate. No one will pass through it, forever and ever.
11
The pelican and the hedgehog will possess it. And the ibis and the raven will live in it. And a measuring line will be extended over it, so that it may be reduced to nothing, and a plumb line, unto desolation.
12
Its nobles will not be in that place. Instead, they will call upon the king, and all its leaders will be as nothing.
13
And thorns and nettles will rise up in its houses, and the thistle in its fortified places. And it will be the lair of serpents and the pasture of ostriches.
14
And demons and monsters will meet, and the hairy ones will cry out to one another. There, the ogress has lain down and found rest for herself.(f)
15
In that place, the hedgehog has kept its den, and has raised its young, and has dug around them, and has kept them warm in its shadow. In that place, the birds of prey have joined together, one to another.
16
Search and read diligently in the book of the Lord. Not one of them was lacking; not one has sought for the other. For what has proceeded from my mouth, he has commanded, and his very Spirit has gathered them.
17
And he has cast lots over them. And his hand has distributed this to them by measure. They will possess it, even unto eternity. From generation to generation, they will dwell in it.

Footnotes

(a)34:1 The word ‘gentes’ could also be translated as ‘Gentiles.’ But in the Christian context, the word would refer to unbelievers in general, rather than to all non-Jews.(Conte)
(b)34:4 And all the host of the heavens:That is, the sun, moon, and stars.(Challoner)
(c)34:5 Idumea:Under the name of Idumea, or Edom a people that were enemies of the Jews, are here understood the wicked in general, the enemies of God and his church.(Challoner)
(d)34:7 The unicorns:That is, the great and mighty.(Challoner)
(e)34:8 The year of recompenses, etc:When the persecutors of Sion, that is, of the church, shall receive their reward.(Challoner)
(f)34:14 Mythological elements such as these, in Sacred Scripture, are used poetically, not literally.(Conte)
1
Come near, you nations, to hear! Listen, you peoples. Let the earth and all it contains hear, the world, and everything that comes from it.
2
For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and angry with all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them. He has given them over for slaughter.
3
Their slain will also be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies will come up. The mountains will melt in their blood.
4
All of the army of the sky will be dissolved. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll, and all its armies will fade away, as a leaf fades from off a vine or a fig tree.

Judgment on Edom

(Isaiah 21:11–12)
5
For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
6
The LORD’s sword is filled with blood. It is covered with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7
The wild oxen will come down with them, and the young bulls with the mighty bulls; and their land will be drunken with blood, and their dust made greasy with fat.
8
For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
9
Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, and its land will become burning pitch.
10
It won’t be quenched night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
11
But the pelican and the porcupine will possess it. The owl and the raven will dwell in it. He will stretch the line of confusion over it, and the plumb line of emptiness.
12
They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
13
Thorns will come up in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; and it will be a habitation of jackals, a court for ostriches.
14
The wild animals of the desert will meet with the wolves, and the wild goat will cry to his fellow. Yes, the night creature(a) shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.
15
The arrow snake will make her nest there, and lay, hatch, and gather under her shade. Yes, the kites will be gathered there, every one with her mate.
16
Search in the book of the LORD, and read: not one of these will be missing. None will lack her mate. For my mouth has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
17
He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever. From generation to generation they will dwell in it.

Footnotes

(a)34:14 literally, lilith, which could also be a night demon or night monster
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