1 C ome near, O nations, to hear! Listen, O people! Let the earth and all that is in it listen, the world and all that comes from it.

Come near, you nations, to hear; And heed, you people! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, The world and all things that come forth from it.

2 F or the Lord’s anger is against all the nations. And His anger is against all their armies. He has destroyed all of them. He has given them over to be killed.

For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter.

3 T heir dead will be thrown out. Their dead bodies will give off a bad smell. The mountains will flow with their blood.

Also their slain shall be thrown out; Their stench shall rise from their corpses, And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.

4 A ll the stars of the heavens will waste away. And the sky will be rolled up like writings. All that are in them will waste away also, as a leaf dries up from the vine, or as one dries up from the fig tree.

All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

5 F or My sword has drunk its fill in heaven. See, it will come down to punish Edom. It will come down upon the people whom I have given over to be destroyed.

“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

6 T he sword of the Lord is covered with blood. It is filled with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, and with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a killing in Bozrah, and much killing in the land of Edom.

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made overflowing with fatness, With the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

7 W ild oxen will fall with them, and young bulls with strong ones. So their land will be filled with blood, and their dust will become rich with fat.

The wild oxen shall come down with them, And the young bulls with the mighty bulls; Their land shall be soaked with blood, And their dust saturated with fatness.”

8 F or the Lord has a day when He will punish, a year when He pays back which will help Zion.

For it is the day of the Lord ’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

9 E dom’s rivers will be turned into tar, and its dust into sulphur. Her land will become burning tar.

Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch.

10 I ts fire will not be put out night or day. Its smoke will go up forever. From one family to their children’s children and on into the future, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.

It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever.

11 B ut the pelican and hedgehog will have it for their own. The owl and raven will live in it. The Lord will make it into an empty waste land.

But the pelican and the porcupine shall possess it, Also the owl and the raven shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out over it The line of confusion and the stones of emptiness.

12 I ts rulers will be gone. And no kings will be named there. All their rulers will be no more.

They shall call its nobles to the kingdom, But none shall be there, and all its princes shall be nothing.

13 T horns will grow in its strong towers. Thistles will grow in cities where battles were fought. It will be a place for wild dogs, and a home for ostriches.

And thorns shall come up in its palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortresses; It shall be a habitation of jackals, A courtyard for ostriches.

14 T he desert animals will meet with the wolves. The wild goats will cry to its kind. Yes, the night-demon will stop there and find a resting place.

The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the jackals, And the wild goat shall bleat to its companion; Also the night creature shall rest there, And find for herself a place of rest.

15 T he snake will make its nest and lay eggs there. Her young will be born from the eggs and she will gather them under her shadow. Yes, the hawks will be gathered there, every one with its kind.

There the arrow snake shall make her nest and lay eggs And hatch, and gather them under her shadow; There also shall the hawks be gathered, Every one with her mate.

16 L ook in the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these will be missing. None will be without its mate. For the mouth of the Lord has said so, and His Spirit has gathered them.

“Search from the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these shall fail; Not one shall lack her mate. For My mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them.

17 H e will divide the land among them and give each of them a share. It will be theirs forever. From one family to their children’s children and on into the future, they will live in it.

He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it among them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they shall dwell in it.”