New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Isaiah 34
1
Nations, come near and listen to me! Pay attention to what I'm about to say. Let the earth and everything in it listen. Let the world and everything that comes out of it pay attention.
Reference
2
The Lord is angry with all of the nations. His anger burns against all of their armies. He will totally destroy them. He will have them killed.
Reference
References Lord
Zephaniah 3:8
3
Those who are killed won't be buried. Their dead bodies will be thrown on the ground. They will give off a very bad smell. Their blood will cover the mountains.
Reference
4
All of the stars in the heavens will vanish. The sky will be rolled up like a scroll. All of the stars in the sky will fall like dried-up leaves from a vine. They will drop like wrinkled figs from a fig tree.
Reference
5
The sword of the Lord will finish its deadly work in the sky. Then it will come down to strike Edom. He will totally destroy that nation.
Reference
6
His sword will be red with blood. It will be covered with fat. The blood will flow like the blood of lambs and goats being sacrificed. The fat will be like the fat taken from the kidneys of rams. That's because the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will kill many people in Edom.
Reference
7
The people and their leaders will be killed like wild oxen and young bulls. Their land will be wet with their blood. The dust will be covered with their fat.
Reference
8
That's because the Lord has set aside a day to pay Edom back. He has set aside a year to pay them back for what they did to the city of Zion.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 63:4
Isaiah 35:4
Revelation 19:2
Revelation 18:20
Deuteronomy 32:35
References Lord
Isaiah 61:2
Psalm 94:1
Jeremiah 46:10
9
The streams of Edom will be turned into tar. Its dust will be turned into blazing sulfur. Its land will become burning tar.
Reference
10
The fire will keep burning night and day. It can't be put out. Its smoke will go up forever. Edom will lie empty for all time to come. No one will ever travel through it again.
Reference
11
The desert owl and screech owl will make it their home. The great owl and the raven will build their nests there. God will use his measuring line to show how completely Edom will be destroyed. He will use his plumb line to show how empty Edom will become.
Reference
12
Edom's nobles won't have anything left there that can be called a kingdom. All of its princes will vanish.
13
Thorns will cover its forts. Bushes and weeds will cover its safest places. It will become a home for wild dogs. It will become a place where owls live.
Reference
14
Desert creatures will meet with hyenas. Wild goats will call out to each other. Night creatures will also sleep there. They will find places where they can rest.
15
Owls will make their nests and lay their eggs there. And they will hatch them. They will take care of their little ones under the shadow of their wings. Male and female falcons will also gather there.
Reference
Parallel theme
Deuteronomy 14:13
16
Look in the scroll of the Lord. There you will read that none of those animals will be missing. Male and female alike will be there. The Lord himself has commanded it. And his Spirit will gather them together.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 33:9
Joshua 1:8
Matthew 5:18
Isaiah 30:8
Proverbs 23:12
John 10:35
Luke 21:33
References Lord
Psalm 33:6
Amos 3:7
Malachi 3:16
Summary of Isaiah 34
Isaiah 34 is a dramatic chapter about universal judgment, the downfall of Edom, and the complete reversal of human power.
Isaiah begins by calling all nations and peoples to listen, making it clear that the message extends beyond Judah and addresses the larger world of human rebellion and violence.
The chapter uses extremely strong imagery: armies are destroyed, bodies are left unburied, mountains are covered with blood, and even the heavens appear to shake.
The purpose of these images is to communicate the enormous scale and seriousness of God's judgment.
The focus then narrows particularly to Edom, a neighboring kingdom southeast of Judah that had a long history of rivalry and conflict with Israel and Judah.
Edom becomes an example of a nation whose political strength, cities, rulers, and military power will eventually disappear.
Its land will be transformed from an inhabited territory into a wilderness filled with thorns, wild animals, birds, and abandoned ruins.
The destruction is described using images of fire, smoke, blood, and desolation, emphasizing that human kingdoms cannot assume that their existence will continue forever.
An important theme is God's justice for Zion.
The judgment against the nations is presented as God's response to violence and oppression directed toward His people.
At the same time, Isaiah emphasizes that God's word is reliable.
The creatures that will occupy the ruined land are described as though they have been recorded in God's written register, and none will be missing.
The chapter therefore presents history as being ultimately governed by God rather than by the ambitions of empires.
The central message is that nations may appear powerful and permanent, but violence, pride, and opposition to God's purposes eventually bring judgment; God remains sovereign over nations and nature, defends His people, and can completely transform a once-powerful kingdom into a desolate wilderness.
Isaiah begins by calling all nations and peoples to listen, making it clear that the message extends beyond Judah and addresses the larger world of human rebellion and violence.
The chapter uses extremely strong imagery: armies are destroyed, bodies are left unburied, mountains are covered with blood, and even the heavens appear to shake.
The purpose of these images is to communicate the enormous scale and seriousness of God's judgment.
The focus then narrows particularly to Edom, a neighboring kingdom southeast of Judah that had a long history of rivalry and conflict with Israel and Judah.
Edom becomes an example of a nation whose political strength, cities, rulers, and military power will eventually disappear.
Its land will be transformed from an inhabited territory into a wilderness filled with thorns, wild animals, birds, and abandoned ruins.
The destruction is described using images of fire, smoke, blood, and desolation, emphasizing that human kingdoms cannot assume that their existence will continue forever.
An important theme is God's justice for Zion.
The judgment against the nations is presented as God's response to violence and oppression directed toward His people.
At the same time, Isaiah emphasizes that God's word is reliable.
The creatures that will occupy the ruined land are described as though they have been recorded in God's written register, and none will be missing.
The chapter therefore presents history as being ultimately governed by God rather than by the ambitions of empires.
The central message is that nations may appear powerful and permanent, but violence, pride, and opposition to God's purposes eventually bring judgment; God remains sovereign over nations and nature, defends His people, and can completely transform a once-powerful kingdom into a desolate wilderness.