My sword(A) has drunk its fill in the heavens;
    see, it descends in judgment on Edom,(B)
    the people I have totally destroyed.(C)
The sword(D) of the Lord is bathed in blood,
    it is covered with fat—
the blood of lambs and goats,
    fat from the kidneys of rams.
For the Lord has a sacrifice(E) in Bozrah(F)
    and a great slaughter(G) in the land of Edom.
And the wild oxen(H) will fall with them,
    the bull calves and the great bulls.(I)
Their land will be drenched with blood,(J)
    and the dust will be soaked with fat.

For the Lord has a day(K) of vengeance,(L)
    a year of retribution,(M) to uphold Zion’s cause.
Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch,
    her dust into burning sulfur;(N)
    her land will become blazing pitch!
10 It will not be quenched(O) night or day;
    its smoke will rise forever.(P)
From generation to generation(Q) it will lie desolate;(R)
    no one will ever pass through it again.
11 The desert owl[a](S) and screech owl[b] will possess it;
    the great owl[c] and the raven(T) will nest there.
God will stretch out over Edom(U)
    the measuring line of chaos(V)
    and the plumb line(W) of desolation.
12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom,
    all her princes(X) will vanish(Y) away.
13 Thorns(Z) will overrun her citadels,
    nettles and brambles her strongholds.(AA)
She will become a haunt for jackals,(AB)
    a home for owls.(AC)
14 Desert creatures(AD) will meet with hyenas,(AE)
    and wild goats will bleat to each other;
there the night creatures(AF) will also lie down
    and find for themselves places of rest.
15 The owl will nest there and lay eggs,
    she will hatch them, and care for her young
    under the shadow of her wings;(AG)
there also the falcons(AH) will gather,
    each with its mate.

16 Look in the scroll(AI) of the Lord and read:

None of these will be missing,(AJ)
    not one will lack her mate.
For it is his mouth(AK) that has given the order,(AL)
    and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions;(AM)
    his hand distributes them by measure.
They will possess it forever
    and dwell there from generation to generation.(AN)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  2. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.
  3. Isaiah 34:11 The precise identification of these birds is uncertain.

A Prophecy Against Edom

12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom(A) took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, 13 therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand(B) against Edom and kill both man and beast.(C) I will lay it waste, and from Teman(D) to Dedan(E) they will fall by the sword.(F) 14 I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger(G) and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”(H)

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The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim(A) son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite(B) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms(C) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.(D) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum(E) the doorkeeper.(F) Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[a](G) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.(H) Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.(I) Then you will live a long time in the land(J) where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather(K) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.(L) 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded(M) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem(N) to escape the Babylonian[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell(O) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson(P) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.(Q) But I have spoken to you again and again,(R) yet you have not obeyed(S) me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets(T) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn(U) from your wicked ways and reform(V) your actions; do not follow other gods(W) to serve them. Then you will live in the land(X) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened(Y) to me.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter
  2. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(B)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,(C)
12 I will send fire on Teman(D)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(E)

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Obadiah’s Vision(A)(B)

The vision(C) of Obadiah.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says about Edom(D)

We have heard a message from the Lord:
    An envoy(E) was sent to the nations to say,
“Rise, let us go against her for battle”(F)

“See, I will make you small(G) among the nations;
    you will be utterly despised.
The pride(H) of your heart has deceived you,
    you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a](I)
    and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
    ‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’(J)
Though you soar like the eagle
    and make your nest(K) among the stars,
    from there I will bring you down,”(L)
declares the Lord.(M)
“If thieves came to you,
    if robbers in the night—
oh, what a disaster awaits you!—
    would they not steal only as much as they wanted?
If grape pickers came to you,
    would they not leave a few grapes?(N)
But how Esau will be ransacked,
    his hidden treasures pillaged!
All your allies(O) will force you to the border;
    your friends will deceive and overpower you;
those who eat your bread(P) will set a trap for you,[b]
    but you will not detect it.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “will I not destroy(Q) the wise men of Edom,
    those of understanding in the mountains of Esau?
Your warriors, Teman,(R) will be terrified,
    and everyone in Esau’s mountains
    will be cut down in the slaughter.
10 Because of the violence(S) against your brother Jacob,(T)
    you will be covered with shame;
    you will be destroyed forever.(U)
11 On the day you stood aloof
    while strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
    and cast lots(V) for Jerusalem,
    you were like one of them.(W)
12 You should not gloat(X) over your brother
    in the day of his misfortune,(Y)
nor rejoice(Z) over the people of Judah
    in the day of their destruction,(AA)
nor boast(AB) so much
    in the day of their trouble.(AC)
13 You should not march through the gates of my people
    in the day of their disaster,
nor gloat over them in their calamity(AD)
    in the day of their disaster,
nor seize their wealth
    in the day of their disaster.
14 You should not wait at the crossroads
    to cut down their fugitives,(AE)
nor hand over their survivors
    in the day of their trouble.

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Footnotes

  1. Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
  2. Obadiah 1:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Israel Doubts God’s Love

“I have loved(A) you,” says the Lord.

“But you ask,(B) ‘How have you loved us?’

“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob,(C) but Esau I have hated,(D) and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland(E) and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.(F)

Edom(G) may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild(H) the ruins.”

But this is what the Lord Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish.(I) They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord.(J) You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great(K) is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’(L)

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A Message About Edom(A)(B)

Concerning Edom:(C)

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Is there no longer wisdom in Teman?(D)
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom decayed?

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