The Lord's Vengeance on the Nations (Edom)
Isaiah 34:1-17
Isa.34.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קרבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לשמע: INF,qal,infc
- ולאמים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- הקשיבו: VERB,hiphil,imp,2,m,pl
- תשמע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ומלאה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תבל: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- צאצאיה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:1 (verbal): Same summons formula—’Give ear, O heavens… hear, O earth’—addressing creation to receive a divine utterance (verbal and structural parallel).
- Isaiah 1:2 (structural): Closely parallels the opening rhetorical call to nations/creation to hear God’s message—both introduce divine indictment by summoning hearers.
- Psalm 49:1 (verbal): Nearly identical vocative appeal to all peoples/inhabitants of the world to hear—serves the same function of calling the nations to listen.
- Micah 6:1 (thematic): Another prophetic summons to hear a legal/contested word—‘let the hills hear’ echoes the motif of addressing creation and nations for a judicial proclamation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Draw near, O nations, and listen; peoples, give ear. Let the earth hear, and all that fills it—the world and all its offspring.
- Draw near, O nations, and listen; peoples, give ear! Earth, hear; and all that fills it—world and all its offspring.
Isa.34.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- קצף: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וחמה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- צבאם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- החרימם: VERB,hiph,inf+3,m,pl
- נתנם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg,prsuf,3,m,pl
- לטבח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:5-6 (structural): Both oracle (Isaiah 13 and 34) announce the LORD’s indignation/vengeance against nations—language of wrath and a coming day of the LORD that brings devastation.
- Zephaniah 3:8 (verbal): Speaks of God assembling nations and pouring out his indignation on them—close verbal/thematic parallel to divine wrath ‘upon all the nations’ in Isa 34:2.
- Obadiah 1:15-18 (allusion): Declares ‘the day of the LORD’ upon all nations and the coming punishment of Edom; echoes Isa 34’s theme of universal divine retribution and slaughter.
- Jeremiah 25:31-33 (thematic): Describes the noise and slaughter associated with the day of the LORD and widespread destruction of peoples—parallels Isa 34’s image of God’s fury against nations and their armies.
- Nahum 1:2-3 (verbal): Portrays the LORD as jealous, avenging and full of wrath—similar language of divine fury and punishment directed against a nation (Nineveh), resonating with Isa 34:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the LORD is full of wrath against all the nations, his fury against every host; he has devoted them, has given them over to the slaughter.
- For the LORD is angry with all the nations, his fury is upon all their hosts; he has devoted them and handed them over to slaughter.
Isa.34.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וחלליהם: NOUN,m,pl,3,m,pl,suff
- ישלכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ופגריהם: NOUN,m,pl,3,m,pl,suff
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- באשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,3,m,pl,suff
- ונמסו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הרים: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- מדמם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,3,m,pl,suff
Parallels
- Isaiah 63:3-6 (verbal): Uses winepress/blood imagery for divine vengeance—’I have trodden the winepress… their lifeblood spurted out’ echoes Isaiah 34:3’s graphic picture of slain, blood, and mountains drenched.
- Revelation 14:19-20 (verbal): Apocalyptic expansion of the same motif: the treading of the winepress and blood flowing to the horses’ bridles parallels Isaiah’s imagery of slaughter and blood-soaked terrain.
- Revelation 19:15 (allusion): The Messiah ‘treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God’ alludes to Old Testament blood‑and‑mountain vengeance motifs found in Isaiah 34:3.
- Ezekiel 35:6 (thematic): A pronouncement against Edom: God promises vengeance because of bloodshed—’blood shall pursue you’—paralleling Isaiah 34’s theme of retributive slaughter and bloodied land.
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (thematic): Oracle against Edom for violence against Jacob; announces ruin and desolation of Edom—themewise close to Isaiah 34’s depiction of total devastation and exposed corpses.
Alternative generated candidates
- Their slain shall be cast out, their corpses flung forth; an odor shall rise—mountains shall melt with their blood.
- Their slain shall be cast forth, their carcasses shall rise—their stench shall ascend; the mountains shall melt with their blood.
Isa.34.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונמקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כל: DET
- צבא: NOUN,m,sg,const
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ונגלו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כספר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השמים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- צבאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- יבול: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כנבל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg
- עלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מגפן: PREP,NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וכנבלת: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מתאנה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Revelation 6:14 (quotation): Direct verbal echo — 'the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together' parallels Isaiah 34:4's image of the heavens being rolled up like a scroll and the cosmic host dissolving.
- Revelation 21:1 (structural): Shared eschatological framework — the passing away of the first heaven and earth and the coming of a new creation echoes Isaiah's motif of cosmic dissolution as part of divine judgment and renewal.
- 2 Peter 3:10–12 (thematic): Describes the heavens passing away with a great noise and elements melting — the same theme of cosmic destruction and purification prior to God's final judgment found in Isaiah 34:4.
- Isaiah 13:13 (allusion): Parallel oracle language within Isaiah — speaks of shaking and removing the heavens and earth in judgment, using similar cosmic-judgment imagery to Isa.34:4.
- Isaiah 51:6 (thematic): Related prophetic motif — calls attention to the transience/perishing of the heavens and earth (they will 'vanish' or 'perish'), reinforcing Isaiah 34:4's emphasis on cosmic impermanence in the face of divine action.
Alternative generated candidates
- All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, the heavens rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall wither, like a leaf withering from the vine, like a leaf falling from the fig tree.
- All the host of heaven shall rot, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall wither like a leaf from the vine and like a withered fig.
Isa.34.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- רותה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בשמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חרבי: NOUN,f,sg,poss1s
- הנה: PART
- על: PREP
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תרד: VERB,qal,juss,2,m,sg
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- עם: PREP
- חרמי: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- למשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Obadiah 1:15-16 (thematic): Prophecy of the day of the LORD and direct judgment on Edom—same theme of retributive punishment against Edom for its crimes.
- Jeremiah 49:7-22 (thematic): Extended oracle against Edom announcing destruction and humiliation, closely parallel in subject and judicial intent.
- Ezekiel 25:12-14 (thematic): Pronounces divine vengeance on Edom executed by the LORD and his people—echoes the theme of God’s sword coming down on Edom.
- Deuteronomy 32:41-43 (verbal): God’s sharpening and wielding of a sword to execute judgment echoes the imagery of the LORD’s sword being bathed and coming down for vengeance.
- Isaiah 63:1-6 (allusion): Visions of the LORD coming in vengeance (mentions Edom/Bozrah imagery and trodden winepress) that echo Isa.34’s motif of divine, blood‑stained retribution.
Alternative generated candidates
- For the sword of the LORD is sated in the heavens—behold, it comes down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to judgment.
- For my sword is sated in the heavens—behold, it shall come down upon Edom, upon the people I have accursed, to execute judgment.
Isa.34.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חרב: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- מלאה: ADV
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הדשנה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מחלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ועתודים: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- מחלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כליות: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- אילים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כי: CONJ
- זבח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- בבצרה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- וטבח: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- גדול: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- אדום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 63:1-3 (verbal): Divine warrior imagery: the coming from Edom/in crimson garments and ‘treading the winepress’ with blood on garments parallels the LORD’s sword ‘full of blood’ and sacrificial slaughter in Bozrah (both depict Yahweh’s personally executed, blood-soaked vengeance).
- Obadiah 1:10-14 (thematic): Oracle against Edom for violence against Jacob and the promise of Edom’s downfall—matches Isaiah’s focus on divine retribution delivered in Edom/Bozrah and the comprehensive destruction of the enemy.
- Amos 1:11-12 (thematic): Judgment on Edom for pursuing his brother with the sword and for violence—parallels the motif of punitive slaughter and the LORD’s retributive action against Edom in Isaiah 34.
- Jeremiah 49:17-18 (thematic): Pronounces Edom’s desolation and horrified reaction to its wounds; complements Isaiah’s depiction of great slaughter and desolation in the land of Edom/Bozrah.
Alternative generated candidates
- The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, glazed with fat—of the blood of lambs and rams, of the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
- The sword of the LORD is full of blood, made fat with fat—the blood of lambs and goats, the fat of rams; for the LORD has a sacrifice at Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
Isa.34.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירדו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- ראמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עמם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ופרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- עם: PREP
- אבירים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ורותה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ארצם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- מדם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ועפרם: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- מחלב: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ידשן: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezek.39:17-20 (verbal): Prophetic feast imagery: birds and beasts are summoned to feed on the flesh and blood of the mighty, using language of eating flesh and drinking blood that echoes Isaiah's picture of the land soaked with blood and fattened with gore.
- Rev.19:17-21 (structural): Eschatological reprise of the prophetic banquet: angels call the birds to the great supper to eat the flesh of kings and warriors—a New Testament deployment of the same judgment-feast motif found in Isaiah 34.
- Deut.28:26 (allusion): Part of the curse on disobedience: ‘your carcasses shall be food for every bird of the air...and for the beasts of the earth,’ offering an earlier legal/background precedent for the image of the slain as food for animals.
- Ps.79:2 (thematic): Complaint over desecration and slaughter: enemies give the bodies of God's servants to the birds—parallels the theme of corpses exposed and eaten by animals in Isaiah's oracle of judgment.
- Isa.63:1-6 (verbal): Divine vengeance language—'I have trodden the winepress... their lifeblood sprinkled my garments'—shares the bloody, winepress/treading imagery and the motif of God's punitive slaughter that underlies Isaiah 34:7.
Alternative generated candidates
- And rams shall go down with them, and bulls with the mighty; their land shall be drenched with blood, and their dust anointed with fat.
- Rams shall go down with them, and bulls with the mighty; their land shall be drenched with blood, and their soil thick with fat.
Isa.34.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- יום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נקם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- שנת: NOUN,f,sg,cs
- שלומים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לריב: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 61:2 (quotation): Contains the phrase 'the day of vengeance of our God' alongside 'year of ...'—a close verbal/functional parallel announcing divine vindication and recompense.
- Isaiah 63:4 (verbal): Speaks of 'the day of vengeance' and 'the year of my redeemed'—echoes Isaiah 34:8's language and theme of God’s punitive vindication on behalf of his people.
- Nahum 1:2 (thematic): Declares the LORD as avenging and wrathful—shares the theme of divine vengeance and retributive justice found in Isaiah 34:8.
- Joel 3:2 (thematic): God promises to enter judgment on the nations for the sake of his people—parallels the idea of recompense/vengeance 'for the cause of Zion.'
- Zephaniah 3:8 (structural): Announces a coming 'day' when the LORD will rise to punish and gather nations—structurally parallels the prophetic pronouncement of a decisive day of the LORD to avenge Zion.
Alternative generated candidates
- For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, the year of retribution for Zion’s quarrel.
Isa.34.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונהפכו: CONJ+VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- נחליה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לזפת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ועפרה: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לגפרית: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ארצה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לזפת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בערה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Gen.19:24 (verbal): God overthrows Sodom and Gomorrah with 'brimstone and fire'—directly parallels the image of land consumed by brimstone/pitch and burning judgment.
- Deut.29:23 (verbal): Describes a land turned into 'brimstone, and salt, and burning' so that it is unsown—close verbal and thematic echo of desolation by brimstone.
- Isa.30:33 (verbal): Speaks of Topheth and the LORD's breath 'like a stream of brimstone' kindling fire—uses the same brimstone/fire motif within Isaiah's prophetic imagery.
- Ps.11:6 (verbal): (Heb./KJV) God 'will rain snares... fire and brimstone' on the wicked—parallel language of divine retribution by burning substances.
- Rev.14:10-11 (verbal): Apocalyptic judgment imagery of the wicked being 'tormented with fire and brimstone'—a later development of the biblical motif of destruction by burning and brimstone.
Alternative generated candidates
- Its streams shall be turned to pitch, its dust to sulfur; its land shall become burning pitch.
- Its streams shall turn to pitch, its soil to sulfur; the land shall be burning pitch.
Isa.34.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לילה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויומם: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- תכבה: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- עשנה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מדור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לדור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחרב: VERB,qal,imprf,3,f,sg
- לנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נצחים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Revelation 14:11 (verbal): ‘The smoke of their torment goes up for ever and ever; they have no rest day or night’ — closely echoes Isaiah 34:10’s language of unquenchable smoke and no quenching night and day.
- Revelation 19:3 (verbal): ‘Her smoke rose up for ever and ever’ — a parallel verbal motif of perpetual smoke rising from divine judgment, matching Isaiah 34:10’s image of enduring smoke.
- Isaiah 66:24 (verbal): ‘Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched’ — similar language of unquenchable fire and enduring punishment, thematically and verbally resonant with Isa 34:10.
- Jeremiah 49:18 (thematic): Prophetic judgment on Edom/Seir as an everlasting desolation (‘I will make it perpetual waste’) parallels Isa 34:10’s motif of desolation ‘from generation to generation.’
- Obadiah 1:18 (thematic): ‘The house of Esau shall be stubble... there shall be no survivor’ — echoes Isaiah 34’s theme of complete, enduring desolation and the absence of passage through the ruined land.
Alternative generated candidates
- Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; for ever and ever none shall pass through it.
- Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall ascend forever; from generation to generation it shall lie desolate—none shall ever pass through it.
Isa.34.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וירשוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl+OBJ,3,f,sg
- קאת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וקפוד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וינשוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וערב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישכנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ונטה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- קו: INTJ
- תהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואבני: NOUN,f,pl,cons
- בהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:21-22 (verbal): Uses virtually the same catalogue of desert/ruin creatures (wild beasts, satyrs/dragons, owl and raven) and the image of a ruined city inhabited by desolate fauna—close verbal and thematic parallel to 34:11.
- Jeremiah 51:37 (thematic): Prophecy of Babylon's destruction describes the city becoming a haunt for desert animals and owls—same motif of urban ruin repopulated by wild birds and beasts as a sign of desolation.
- Psalm 102:6 (thematic): The psalmist likens himself to a 'pelican/bittern of the wilderness' and 'an owl of the desert,' employing the same desert-bird imagery to convey isolation and desolation found in Isa. 34:11.
- Isaiah 34:13-15 (structural): Immediate literary parallel within the same oracle: subsequent verses continue the catalogue of plants and creatures (thorns, jackals, ostriches, night-creatures) inhabiting the devastated land, amplifying the theme of utter desolation begun in v.11.
Alternative generated candidates
- But pelican and porcupine shall possess it; the owl and the raven shall dwell there. He will stretch over it the line of desolation and the plumb line of emptiness.
- The wild goat and the porcupine shall possess it; the owl and the raven shall dwell there. He will stretch over it the measuring line of chaos and the plummet of desolation.
Isa.34.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- חריה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- שם: ADV
- מלוכה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יקראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- שריה: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- יהיו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אפס: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:20-22 (structural): Similar structural imagery of total depopulation: cities left uninhabited, wild creatures inhabiting ruined places—parallel language and motif of a land bereft of human rulers and inhabitants.
- Obadiah 1:1,16-18 (thematic): Oracular denunciation of Edom: predicts humiliation, loss of status and desolation of the nation—themewise parallel to Isa. 34:12's depiction of nobles and princes rendered powerless or absent.
- Jeremiah 49:7-22 (thematic): Jeremiah's extended oracle against Edom recounts devastation, plunder and the undoing of its strongholds and leaders—parallels the theme that Edom's leadership and political order are brought to nothing.
- Joel 3:19 (Joel 4:19 in some traditions) (verbal): Lists Edom among nations turned into desolate wastelands—uses similar formulaic language about a land made desolate, echoing Isa. 34:12's consequence for nobles and rulers.
Alternative generated candidates
- Its chiefs—there is no one to be called a ruler; a king shall not be there; all its princes shall be nothing.
- Its strongholds are desolate—there is no one to call them ‘king’; all its princes shall be nothing.
Isa.34.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועלתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ארמנתיה: NOUN,f,pl,suff
- סירים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- קמוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וחוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- במבצריה: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- נוה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חציר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבנות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- יענה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:21-22 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery—palaces overgrown with thorns/brambles and become haunt of wild beasts and owls—describing Babylon's desolation.
- Jeremiah 50:39 (verbal): Announces Babylon will be a desolation and 'a dwelling of dragons'/'jackals'—same phrase and motif of ruined habitation inhabited by wild creatures.
- Jeremiah 51:37 (verbal): Declares Babylon will become a heap and a 'dwellingplace for dragons,' echoing the theme of palaces turned into lairs for wild/unclean animals.
- Revelation 18:2 (allusion): New Testament echo of prophetic desolation language: fallen Babylon as a habitation for demons and unclean spirits—an interpretive development of the OT ruin motif.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thorns shall grow in its palaces, thistles and briers in its fortresses; it shall be a haunt for jackals, a pasture for ostriches.
- Thorns shall grow in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its strongholds; it shall become a haunt of jackals, a pasture for ostriches.
Isa.34.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ופגשו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ציים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- איים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ושעיר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- רעהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- יקרא: VERB,niphal,impf,3,m,sg
- אך: PART
- שם: ADV
- הרגיעה: DET+NOUN,f,sg,def
- לילית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ומצאה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+OBJ,3,f,sg
- לה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- מנוח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 50:39 (verbal): Near‑verbatim verbal and imagistic parallel: a ruined city inhabited by desert beasts and se'irim (goat‑demons/satyrs), where night‑creatures (lilith/night‑bird) find a resting‑place, echoing Isa 34:14.
- Isaiah 13:21-22 (thematic): A closely related oracle of desolation (against Babylon) that deploys the same stock of motifs — wild animals, se'irim/satyrs, and nocturnal creatures inhabiting ruined towns — showing a shared prophetic tradition.
- Leviticus 17:7 (verbal): Uses the noun se'irim (often translated 'goat‑demons' or 'satyrs'), the same lexical element found in Isa 34:14, linking ancient Israelite references to demonic/goat‑like figures across texts.
- Jeremiah 51:37 (thematic): Another prophetic depiction of Babylon turned into a haunt for wild beasts and night‑creatures; thematically parallel to Isaiah's portrayal of desolation and creatures taking possession of the ruins.
Alternative generated candidates
- Wild beasts shall meet hyenas; the goat-demon shall call to his fellow. There too the night creature will settle and find a resting place.
- Wild beasts shall meet with jackals, and the he-goat shall call to his mate; the night creature shall also lodge there and find for herself a resting place.
Isa.34.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמה: ADV
- קננה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קפוז: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- ותמלט: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- ובקעה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ודגרה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- בצלה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- אך: PART
- שם: ADV
- נקבצו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,pl
- דיות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 13:21-22 (verbal): Very similar catalogue of desert/ruin fauna (owls, jackals, wild beasts) inhabiting a devastated city — parallel language and imagery of national desolation.
- Jeremiah 51:37 (verbal): Speaks of a great city becoming a haunt for desert creatures/owls; parallels Isaiah's theme of formerly inhabited places becoming homes for birds and wild animals.
- Psalm 102:6-7 (thematic): Uses the image of the owl/pelican of the wilderness to convey desolation and loneliness, echoing Isaiah's use of owl imagery to portray ruined habitation.
- Job 30:29 (thematic): Associates the speaker with desert creatures including owls/dragons as symbols of abandonment and disgrace, resonating with Isaiah's motif of ruined lands inhabited by such animals.
Alternative generated candidates
- There the screech-owl makes her nest and lays; she hatches and broods in her shadow—there the hawks have gathered, each with her mate.
- There the heron shall nest—she shall lay and hatch and brood in her shadow; there too the screech-owl shall gather, each with her companion.
Isa.34.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דרשו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- מעל: PREP
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וקראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אחת: NUM,f,sg
- מהנה: PREP+PRON,3,f,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- נעדרה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3f.suf
- לא: PART_NEG
- פקדו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- פי: NOUN,m,sg,construct
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- צוה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ורוחו: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,prsfx=3ms
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- קבצן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 55:11 (verbal): Both verses insist on the efficacy of God's spoken word — what goes out from God's mouth accomplishes its purpose and does not return empty, paralleling 'for My mouth it hath commanded.'
- Isaiah 40:8 (thematic): Emphasizes the enduring and reliable character of God's word; Isaiah 34 affirms that none will fail because the LORD's command is steadfast, echoing the theme that God's word stands forever.
- Psalm 33:6 (verbal): 'By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth' parallels the language of divine speech and spirit as causative — 'My mouth... and his spirit... gathered them.'
- Ezekiel 37:10 (thematic): Ezekiel's vision links the breath/spirit with reanimation and gathering of the dead; Isaiah 34 likewise attributes the assembling/fulfillment of God's decree to his mouth and spirit, connecting divine speech and spirit-act.
- Genesis 1:3 (structural): The pattern of divine fiat ('And God said...') creating and ordering reality underlies Isaiah 34:16's claim that God's command and spirit effect what is decreed — a parallel to the creative power of God's word in Gen 1.
Alternative generated candidates
- Search in the book of the LORD and read: not one of these shall be missing; none shall lack her mate—for his mouth has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
- Search from the book of the LORD and read: not one of these shall be missing, none shall lack its mate. For the mouth of the LORD has commanded, and his Spirit has gathered them.
Isa.34.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- הפיל: VERB,hiphil,perf,3,m,sg
- להן: PREP+PRON,3,f,pl
- גורל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וידו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חלקתה: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בקו: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עד: PREP
- עולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יירשוה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl+SUFF,3fs
- לדור: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ודור: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישכנו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:8 (thematic): God as apportioner of peoples and their boundaries — similar divine allotment of territory and setting of limits.
- Joshua 18:10 (verbal): Joshua 'cast lots' before the LORD to divide the land among the tribes — parallels Isaiah's language of casting lots and apportioning inheritance.
- Numbers 33:54 (verbal): Instruction to inherit the land 'by lot' according to families — echoes the practice and legal principle of dividing land by lot described in Isaiah 34:17.
- Psalm 16:6 (verbal): Image of measuring lines and a bequeathed heritage ('the lines have fallen for me') recalls Isaiah's language of God apportioning with a line and assigning inheritance.
- Amos 9:15 (thematic): Promise that the people will possess the land forever and be established for generations — parallels Isaiah's emphasis on perpetual possession 'for ever; from generation to generation.'
Alternative generated candidates
- He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has apportioned it to them by a measuring line; they shall possess it forever, and dwell there from generation to generation.
- He has cast the lot for them; his hand has apportioned it to them by measure—they shall possess it forever and dwell there from generation to generation.
Draw near, O nations, and give ear, O peoples; let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world and all its offspring.
For the LORD is full of wrath against all the nations, and fierce anger against all their host; he has devoted them and handed them over to the slaughter.
Their slain shall be cast out, their corpses shall stink; the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
All the host of heaven shall melt away, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; all their host shall wither like a leaf from the vine and like what falls from the fig tree.
For the LORD has a sword glinting in heaven; behold, it shall descend on Edom, on the people I have devoted to destruction for judgment.
The sword of the LORD is sated with blood; it is anointed with fat — with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for the LORD is making a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
The rams and he-goats shall fall together, and the bulls with the mighty; their land shall drink blood, and their soil be fattened with fat.
For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, the year of recompense for Zion's dispute.
Its streams shall be turned to pitch, its soil to sulfur; its land shall become burning pitch.
Night and day it shall not be quenched; its smoke shall go up forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste — none shall pass through it forever and ever.
The pelican and the porcupine shall possess it; the owl and the raven shall dwell there. He will stretch over it the measuring line of desolation and the stones of emptiness.
Its strongholds are desolate; there is no one to be called king, and all its princes shall be nothing.
Thorns shall grow in its palaces, nettles and thistles in its fortresses; it shall be a haunt for jackals, an enclosure for ostriches.
Wild beasts shall meet hyenas, and the goat-demon shall cry to its fellow; there the night-creature settles and finds for herself a resting place.
There the great owl nests and lays, hatches and broods in its shadow; there the birds of prey gather, each with her mate.
Seek in the book of the LORD and read: not one of these shall be missing, none shall lack its mate. For by his mouth he commanded, and by his spirit he gathered them. And he cast lots for them, and his hand apportioned it to them by measure; they shall possess it forever and ever, and shall dwell there from generation to generation.