Don’t Lose Heart! – Isaiah 34:1-35:10
34 Come near, you nations, and listen. Pay attention, you peoples. Let the earth hear, and all that is in it; the world, and all that comes forth out of it. (2) Jehovah has indignation against all the nations, and his wrath is against all their armies. He will totally destroy them; he will give them over to be slaughtered. (3) Their slain will be thrown away, their dead bodies will send up a stench; and the mountains will be soaked with their blood. (4) All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved, and the heavens themselves will be rolled up like a scroll. All of the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. (5) My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; look, now it shall come down in judgment upon Edom, upon the people who are under my curse. (6) The sword of Jehovah is bathed in blood, it has become fat with the fatness of beasts—with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. (7) The wild oxen will fall with them, together with the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat; (8) for Jehovah has appointed a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, for Zion’s cause.
(9) Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone—the land will become blazing pitch. (10) It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. (11) The desert owl and the screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. Jehovah will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. (12) They will summon the nobles to the kingdom, but there will be none to respond—all her princes will vanish. (13) Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles will overrun her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals and a home for owls. (14) The wild beasts of the desert will meet with the hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; the night creatures will settle there and find for themselves a place of rest. (15) The owl will make its nest there and lay its eggs; she will hatch them and care for her young under the shadow of her wings. There, also, the falcons will gather, each with its mate. (16) Look in the scroll of Jehovah and read: Not one of these will be missing, not one shall lack its mate—for the command has come from my own mouth; and his Spirit will gather them together. (17) He allots their portions; his hand has divided the land among them with the measuring line. They will possess it forever; from generation to generation they will dwell there.
35 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, (2) it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice with joy and singing. It will receive the glory of Lebanon, as well as the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of Jehovah, the majesty of our God.
(3) Strengthen the weak hands and steady the feeble knees. (4) Say to those who have fearful hearts, Be strong, do not be afraid. See, your God is coming with vengeance, with divine retribution; he is coming to save you.
(5) Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unplugged. (6) Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy; for waters will gush forth in the wilderness and there will be streams in the desert. (7) The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground will become bubbling springs; in the haunts where jackals once lay, there will be grass with reeds and papyrus. (8) A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called, The Way of Holiness. The unclean man will not travel on it; it will only be for the redeemed. Whoever walks on that road, even the feeble-minded, will not go astray. (9) No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get onto that road—they will not be found there. Only the redeemed will walk there. (10) Then those who have been ransomed by Jehovah will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them; sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Now proceed to the next section of this study, entitled, Exploring the Passage.
