Isaiah chapter 34
The LORD’s day of vengeance.
THE LORD’S DAY OF VENGEANCE
VERSE 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.
you nations. The Old Testament foresees Gentiles coming to faith in the One God of Israel and bringing gifts to Jerusalem. Here are the key Bible verses about this »
VERSE 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.
He has utterly destroyed them. The NAB translation says “he has doomed them.”
VERSE 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.
Their slain will also be cast out. In the LORD God’s wrath against the armies of all nations, their dead bodies will rot on the ground.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 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.
my sword. The Bible is living and active. Sharper than a sword, it discerns our thoughts and intentions. Read more »
it will come down on Edom. The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s older brother. Isaiah cites them as an example of the LORD’s judgment against the world.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 8. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
BBE translation. For it is the day of the Lord’s punishment, when he gives payment for the wrongs done to Zion.
for the wrongs done to Zion. One cannot get away with harming the LORD God’s people. A day will come when such deeds will be “adjusted” for.
VERSE 9. Its streams will be turned into pitch, its dust into sulfur, And its land will become burning pitch.
VERSE 10. It won’t be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 12. They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, but none shall be there; and all its princes shall be nothing.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 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 shall settle there, and shall find herself a place of rest.
the night creature. In Hebrew, לִילִית (“Lilith”).
Lilith was thought to be a female demon who roamed the desert.
VERSE 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.
VERSE 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.
NLT translation. Search the book of the LORD, and see what he will do. Not one of these birds and animals will be mission, and none will lack a mate, for the LORD has promised this. His Spirit will make it all come true.
Search the book of the LORD. The answers to our questions are waiting for us in the Bible. We simply need to search.
His Spirit. The Hebrew word is ruach. It is an Old Testament reference to the Spirit of God.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit is not mentioned often. However, the Spirit was indeed present and interacted with us humans. Read more »
VERSE 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.
ISAIAH
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, True Fasting
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.