Isaiah , Sarah Barry
THE LORD’S RETRIBUTION
Passage: Isaiah 34:1~17  
Key verse: 1
Judgment Against the Nations34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(A)
pay attention, you peoples!(B)
Let the earth(C) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(D)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(E) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[a](F) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(G)
3 Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(L)
and the heavens rolled up(M) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(N)
like withered(O) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(Q)
the people I have totally destroyed.(R)
6 The sword(S) 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(T) in Bozrah(U)
and a great slaughter(V) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(W) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(X)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(Y)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(AC)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(AD) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(AE)
From generation to generation(AF) it will lie desolate;(AG)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[b](AH) and screech owl[c] will possess it;
the great owl[d] and the raven(AI) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(AJ)
the measuring line of chaos(AK)
and the plumb line(AL) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(AM) will vanish(AN) away.
13 Thorns(AO) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AQ)
a home for owls.(AR)
14 Desert creatures(AS) will meet with hyenas,(AT)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AU) will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;(AV)
there also the falcons(AW) will gather,
each with its mate.
34 Come near, you nations, and listen;(A)
pay attention, you peoples!(B)
Let the earth(C) hear, and all that is in it,
the world, and all that comes out of it!(D)
2 The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath(E) is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy[a](F) them,
he will give them over to slaughter.(G)
3 Their slain(H) will be thrown out,
their dead bodies(I) will stink;(J)
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.(K)
4 All the stars in the sky will be dissolved(L)
and the heavens rolled up(M) like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall(N)
like withered(O) leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword(P) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(Q)
the people I have totally destroyed.(R)
6 The sword(S) 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(T) in Bozrah(U)
and a great slaughter(V) in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen(W) will fall with them,
the bull calves and the great bulls.(X)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(Y)
and the dust will be soaked with fat.
8 For the Lord has a day(Z) of vengeance,(AA)
a year of retribution,(AB) to uphold Zion’s cause.
9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
her dust into burning sulfur;(AC)
her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(AD) night or day;
its smoke will rise forever.(AE)
From generation to generation(AF) it will lie desolate;(AG)
no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[b](AH) and screech owl[c] will possess it;
the great owl[d] and the raven(AI) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(AJ)
the measuring line of chaos(AK)
and the plumb line(AL) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
all her princes(AM) will vanish(AN) away.
13 Thorns(AO) will overrun her citadels,
nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AP)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AQ)
a home for owls.(AR)
14 Desert creatures(AS) will meet with hyenas,(AT)
and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AU) will also lie down
and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
she will hatch them, and care for her young
under the shadow of her wings;(AV)
there also the falcons(AW) will gather,
each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll(AX) of the Lord and read:
None of these will be missing,(AY)
not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AZ) that has given the order,(BA)
and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(BB)
his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
and dwell there from generation to generation.(BC)
Footnotes
- Isaiah 34:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 5.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
- Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
Cross references
- Isaiah 34:1 : S Isa 33:13
- Isaiah 34:1 : Isa 41:1; 43:9
- Isaiah 34:1 : S Dt 4:26; Ps 49:1
- Isaiah 34:1 : Ps 24:1
- Isaiah 34:2 : S Isa 10:25
- Isaiah 34:2 : S Isa 13:5; S Zec 5:3
- Isaiah 34:2 : S Isa 30:25
- Isaiah 34:3 : S Isa 5:25; S 10:4
- Isaiah 34:3 : S Ps 110:6; Eze 39:11
- Isaiah 34:3 : Joel 2:20; Am 4:10
- Isaiah 34:3 : ver 7; S 2Sa 1:22; Isa 63:6; Eze 5:17; 14:19; 32:6; 35:6; 38:22
- Isaiah 34:4 : S Job 9:7; S Isa 13:13; 2Pe 3:10
- Isaiah 34:4 : Isa 38:12; Heb 1:12
- Isaiah 34:4 : S Mt 24:29*; Mk 13:25*
- Isaiah 34:4 : S Job 8:12; S Isa 15:6; Mt 21:19
- Isaiah 34:5 : Dt 32:41-42; Jer 47:6; Eze 21:5; Zec 13:7
- Isaiah 34:5 : S 2Sa 8:13-14; S 2Ch 28:17; Am 1:11-12
- Isaiah 34:5 : S Dt 13:15; S Jos 6:17; Isa 24:6; Am 3:14-15; 6:11
- Isaiah 34:6 : S Dt 32:41; S Isa 27:1
- Isaiah 34:6 : S Lev 3:9
- Isaiah 34:6 : S Ge 36:33
- Isaiah 34:6 : S Isa 30:25; S Jer 25:34; Rev 19:17
- Isaiah 34:7 : S Nu 23:22
- Isaiah 34:7 : S Ps 68:30
- Isaiah 34:7 : S 2Sa 1:22
- Isaiah 34:8 : S Isa 2:12
- Isaiah 34:8 : S Isa 1:24; 35:4; 47:3; 63:4
- Isaiah 34:8 : Isa 59:18; Eze 25:12-17; Joel 3:4; Am 1:6-8, 9-10
- Isaiah 34:9 : S Ge 19:24
- Isaiah 34:10 : S Isa 1:31
- Isaiah 34:10 : Rev 14:10-11; 19:3
- Isaiah 34:10 : ver 17
- Isaiah 34:10 : Isa 13:20; 24:1; Jer 49:18; Eze 29:12; 35:3; Mal 1:3
- Isaiah 34:11 : S Lev 11:16-18; S Dt 14:15-17; Rev 18:2
- Isaiah 34:11 : S Ge 8:7
- Isaiah 34:11 : Isa 21:11; Eze 35:15; Joel 3:19; Ob 1:1; Mal 1:4
- Isaiah 34:11 : S Ge 1:2
- Isaiah 34:11 : S 2Ki 21:13; Am 7:8
- Isaiah 34:12 : Job 12:21; Ps 107:40; Isa 40:23; Jer 21:7; 27:20; 39:6; Eze 24:5
- Isaiah 34:12 : Isa 29:20; 41:11-12
- Isaiah 34:13 : S Isa 5:6; S 7:19
- Isaiah 34:13 : S Isa 13:22
- Isaiah 34:13 : Ps 44:19; S Isa 13:22; Jer 9:11; 10:22
- Isaiah 34:13 : S Lev 11:16-18
- Isaiah 34:14 : S Ps 74:14
- Isaiah 34:14 : Isa 13:22
- Isaiah 34:14 : Rev 18:2
- Isaiah 34:15 : S Ps 17:8
- Isaiah 34:15 : Dt 14:13
- Isaiah 34:16 : Isa 30:8
- Isaiah 34:16 : Isa 40:26; 48:13
- Isaiah 34:16 : Isa 1:20; 58:14
- Isaiah 34:16 : S Isa 1:20
- Isaiah 34:17 : Isa 17:14; Jer 13:25
- Isaiah 34:17 : ver 10
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source:  BibleGateway
This day of the LORD’s retribution is coming. God will bring this day to uphold the cause of those who have believed on Jesus, represented by Zion. God assures us that there is no other way. He will not change his mind. This is written in “the scroll of the LORD” (16), and nothing will be missed. God has declared the consequences of turning away from him. No one deserves to be saved, but God has provided the way of salvation in Jesus Christ. Pray for others to hear this warning and turn to the Lord Jesus in faith.
Prayer: Father, your judgment is sure. Thank you for Jesus who alone saves us from condemnation. Help us to share this truth with others.
One Word: Come near to the LORD!