He has cast the lot for them, and his hand has divided it to them with a measuring line. They shall possess it forever. From generation to generation they will dwell in it.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it unto them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
- BSB He has allotted their portion; His hand has distributed it by measure. They will possess it forever; they will dwell in it from generation to generation.
- NKJV 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.”
- NASB He has cast the lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by the measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From generation to generation they will dwell in it.
- NLT He has surveyed and divided the land and deeded it over to those creatures. They will possess it forever, from generation to generation.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God permanently assigns the desolate land to the wild creatures, sealing Edom's judgment as lasting.
Overview
Just as land was once apportioned by lot and measuring line to Israel's tribes, God now allots Edom's ruins to the desert animals as a lasting possession. The reversal underscores the finality of his verdict. It closes the oracle by affirming God's sovereign control over the destinies of nations, both in judgment and in the inheritance he gives his own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 34:10It won’t be quenched night nor day. Its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation, it will lie waste. No one will pass through it forever and ever.
- Acts 17:26He made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the surface of the earth, having determined appointed seasons, and the boundaries of their dwellings,
- Josh 18:8The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go walk through the land, survey it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh in Shiloh.”
- Ps 78:55He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.
- Isa 17:14At evening, behold, terror! Before the morning, they are no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us.
- Jer 13:25This is your lot, the portion measured to you from me,” says Yahweh; “because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.”
- Isa 13:20–22It will never be inhabited, neither will it be lived in from generation to generation. The Arabian will not pitch a tent there, neither will shepherds make their flocks lie down there.
- Acts 13:19When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an inheritance, for about four hundred fifty years.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 34:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.