Isaiah

CHAPTER 34

Judgment upon Edom

be attentive, you peoples!

Let the earth and what fills it listen,

the world and all it produces.^a

enraged against all their host;

He has placed them under the ban,

given them up to slaughter.^b

their corpses shall send up a stench;

the mountains shall run with their blood,^c

the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll.

All their host shall wither away,

as the leaf wilts on the vine,

or as the fig withers on the tree.^d

it shall come down upon Edom for judgment,

upon a people under my ban.^e

greasy with fat,

With the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of rams’ kidneys;

For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

a great slaughter in the land of Edom.^f

and bullocks with bulls;

Their land shall be soaked with blood,

and their soil greasy with fat.

a year of requital for the cause of Zion.^g

its soil into sulfur,

and its land shall become burning pitch;

its smoke shall rise forever.

From generation to generation it shall lie waste,

never again shall anyone pass through it.^h

the screech owl and raven shall dwell in it.

The LORD will stretch over it the measuring line of chaos,

the plumb line of confusion.^{* i}

nor shall kings be proclaimed there;

all its princes are gone.^j

its fortresses with thistles and briers.

It shall become an abode for jackals,

a haunt for ostriches.^k

satyrs^* shall call to one another;

There shall the lilith repose,

and find for herself a place to rest.

hatch them out and gather them in her shadow;

There shall the kites assemble,

each with its mate.

not one of these shall be lacking,

For the mouth of the LORD has ordered it,

and his spirit gathers them there.

his hand measures off^* their portions;

They shall possess it forever,

and dwell in it from generation to generation.^l

* [34:1–35:10] These two chapters form a small collection which looks forward to the vindication of Zion, first by defeat of its enemies (chap. 34), then by its restoration (chap. 35). They are generally judged to be later than the time of Isaiah (eighth century), perhaps during the Babylonian exile or thereafter; they are strongly influenced by Deutero-Isaiah (sixth century). In places they reflect themes from other parts of the Isaian collection.

* [34:8–17] The extreme hostility against Edom in this passage is reflected in a number of other prophetic texts from the seventh and sixth centuries B.C. (cf. e.g., 63:1–6; Jer 49:7–22; Ez 25:12–14). The animus was probably prompted by Edomite infiltration of the southern territories of Judah, especially after the Babylonian conquest of Judah.

* [34:11] Chaos…confusion: tohu…bohu in Hebrew, the terms used to describe the primeval chaos in Gn 1:2.

* [34:14] Satyrs: see note on 13:21. The lilith: a female demon thought to roam about the desert.

* [34:16] Book of the LORD: a list of God’s creatures; cf. Ex 32:32–33; Ps 69:29, “the book of the living”; Ps 139:16, “your book.”

* [34:17] Casts the lot…measures off: an ironic reference to how land might be distributed to new possessors (cf. Jos 14–21; Mi 2:5).

a. [34:1] Mi 1:2.

b. [34:2] Is 24:21.

c. [34:3] Ez 32:4, 6.

d. [34:4] Is 13:10; 24:23; Ez 32:7; Jl 3:3–4; Mt 24:29; 2 Pt 3:10; Rev 6:12–14.

e. [34:5] Jer 46:10.

f. [34:6] Is 63:1; Lv 3:4; 2 Sm 1:22; Jer 49:12–13; Zep 1:7.

g. [34:8] Is 13:9; 63:4.

h. [34:10] Mal 1:4; Rev 14:11; 18:18.

i. [34:11] Is 14:23; 28:17; 2 Kgs 21:13; Zep 2:14.

j. [34:12] Ob 18.

k. [34:13] Is 13:21; Hos 9:6.

l. [34:17] Jos 18:10; Ps 78:55.