Isaiah 34:17
in Isaiah 34He 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 34
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd he has cast the lot for them, distributing to each suitable places to stay: heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away (Luke 21:33). Or, if this is explained as concerning Judea, these various monsters are understood to be …
This site's exposition
Search and read the scroll of the LORD
on Isaiah 34:16-17
The oracle closes by pointing to its own written record: Search and read the scroll of the LORD. Not one of these will go missing, because He has ordered it. The wild creatures receive the land as an inheritance, the same surveying language as the measuring line of verse 11.
This site's exposition
He has allotted their portion
Barnes notes that conquered lands were commonly shared out by lot, as Canaan was divided among the tribes at Numbers 26:55. Here the lot and the line deed Edom to the wild creatures. They hold it by God's own grant.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verses 8 and following) For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of retribution in the judgment of Zion. Its streams will be turned into pitch, and its soil into sulfur; its land will become burning pitch. Night and day it will not be extinguished; its smoke will go up forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will pass through it forever. The pelican and the hedgehog will possess it, the owl and the raven will dwell in it.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment. 6 The sword of the L ORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the L ORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:95%@v5-6
And he hath cast the lot for them,....
The word of God's promise shall in like manner be accomplished by the operations of the Spirit. That there is an exact order and proportion observed in the accomplishment of this threatening: He has cast the lot for these birds and beasts, so that each one shall know his place as readily as if it were marked by line.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And he hath cast the lot for them - He hath assigned to them the land of Edom to be occupied by them as their portion. This language is taken from the fact that countries were commonly apportioned, particularly among conquerors, by the lot. In this way Judea was divided among the tribes of Israel Num 26:55-56. His hand hath divided it unto them by line - He has marked out, as a surveyor does, the land of Edom as the dwelling-place of the beasts of the forest.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהֽוּא־ | vehu'- | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הִפִּ֤יל | hipil | he has cast | H5307 → | 435 times |
| לָהֶן֙ | lahen | for them | ||
| גּוֹרָ֔ל | goral | a lot | H1486 → | 78 times |
| וְיָד֛וֹ | veyado | and hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חִלְּקַ֥תָּה | chilekatah | it has distributed it | H2505 → | 65 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | to them | ||
| בַּקָּ֑ו | bakav | by the measuring-line | H6957 → | 21 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עוֹלָם֙ | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| יִֽירָשׁ֔וּהָ | yirashuha | they will possess it | H3423 → | 231 times |
| לְד֥וֹר | ledor | to a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| וָד֖וֹר | vador | and a generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| יִשְׁכְּנוּ־ | yishkenu- | they will dwell | H7931 → | 129 times |
| בָֽהּ׃ ס | vah | in it |
וְהֽוּא־and he
vehu'-H1931 →1879 times
הִפִּ֤ילhe has cast
hipilH5307 →435 times
לָהֶן֙for them
lahen
גּוֹרָ֔לa lot
goralH1486 →78 times
וְיָד֛וֹand hand his
veyadoH3027 →1618 times
חִלְּקַ֥תָּהit has distributed it
chilekatahH2505 →65 times
לָהֶ֖םto them
lahem
בַּקָּ֑וby the measuring-line
bakavH6957 →21 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עוֹלָם֙perpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
יִֽירָשׁ֔וּהָthey will possess it
yirashuhaH3423 →231 times
לְד֥וֹרto a generation
ledorH1755 →167 times
וָד֖וֹרand a generation
vadorH1755 →167 times
יִשְׁכְּנוּ־they will dwell
yishkenu-H7931 →129 times
בָֽהּ׃ סin it
vah
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 17:26From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:7–8
Remember the days of old; consider the years long past. Ask your father, and he will tell you, your elders, and they will inform you.
- Genesis 3:20
And Adam named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living.
- Malachi 2:10
Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why then do we break faith with one another so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?
- Romans 5:12–19
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
- 1 Corinthians 15:22
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
- Deuteronomy 32:7–8
Through
Isaiah 34:10It will not be quenched—day or night. Its smoke will ascend forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever again pass through it.
it leads to
- Revelation 19:3
And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
- Isaiah 66:24
“As they go forth, they will see the corpses of the men who have rebelled against Me; for their worm will never die, their fire will never be quenched, and they will be a…
- Revelation 19:3
Through
Isaiah 17:14In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 19:35
And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…
- 2 Kings 19:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.
