Isaiah 34:9-11

The Voice

The Edomites take advantage of Judah during the Babylonian conquest. Like parasites they eat away at the land, the strength, and the resources of Judah. Edom is a place of incorrigible violence, filled with devastating evils. In a word, Edom has become like Sodom and Gomorrah. God cannot let that stand, so He comes to vindicate His covenant people. The image Isaiah paints here of Edom and its grim future is hellish. The great, bustling civilization of Edom is reduced to nothing and eventually annihilated; its land becomes a wasteland, the haunt of fearsome desert creatures.

⁹Edom’s waters will be made thick and black as oily pitch.
    Its dust will turn to brimstone, and the land will ignite with burning pitch.
¹⁰Edom’s fiery judgment will burn day and night for all time;
    the smoke from it will ascend forever.
For generations to come it will be a wasteland,
    and no person will make it their home ever again.
¹¹Desert owls and screech owls, great owls and ravens
    will take up residence in that bleak place.
When God measures the land,
    desolation will be its width and chaos will mark its length.