A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Isaiah 34-35

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 1 November 2025 *

Fig. 1

Introduction

This study treats Isaiah 34-35 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

Isaiah 34-35 predicts the eternal destruction of Satan's kingdoms, "Babylon" and the Beast (the two kingdoms are together called "Edom"), at the start of Christ's Millennial Reign. It also predicts the rapture of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked during the End-Times Tribulation.

Discussion

1. Presuppositions

We base our parse of Isaiah 34-35 on the assumption that it refers to 3 periods:

1. The Devastation of Judea and Idumea during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD).
2. "Edom" is destroyed and Israel is restored at the start of the Millennial Reign (c 2027AD). Satan's kingdoms, "Babylon" and the Beast, are destroyed.
3. The Wicked are punished and the Righteous raptured during the Final Tribulation (before 2967AD).

2. Parsing the chiasmus

We will use the NIV Bible for this parse.

Parsing this chiasmus involves dividing portions of the text into three categories as above. We will call the time of the destruction of Judah and Idumea in 70AD Period 1, the destruction of "Edom" at the start of the Millennial Reign Period 2, and the time of the Final Tribulation Period 3.

Categorizing Isaiah 34-35

Ch 34 vs 1-4 belong to Period 3. The wicked of all the nations of the earth and the fallen angels that control those nations ("starry host") are punished during the Final Tribulation.

Ch 34 vs 5-6a belong to Period 2. The Lord destroys the people of Satan's kingdoms, "Babylon" and the Beast ("Edom"), after destroying the fallen angels that control them from heaven. Note that while vs 5-7 may appear to be about one topic, vs 5-6a is regarding destruction by a sword, but vs 6b-7, categorised under Period 1 below, describes a sacrifice.

Ch 34 vs 6b-10a belongs to Period 1. God punishes the Judahites and "sacrifices" the Idumeans through the Roman massacre in Jerusalem and Judea in 70AD. The "Day of the Lord" of this Period applies to the Judahites. We take the "bulls" of various types to represent the leaders of Idumea. Verses 6b-7 and 9-10a could belong to Period 1 or Period 2, but we place them here so that we have proper regular chiasmi in the Periods. Note that while vs 9-11a may appear to be regarding one topic, vs 9-10a describes a devastated land, but 10b-11a, categorised under Period 2 below, describes a land devoid of people.

Ch 34 vs 10b - Ch 35 vs 7 belong to Period 2. Satan's empire ("Edom") is destroyed and Israel is restored.

Ch 35 vs 8-10 belongs to Period 3. The righteous are raptured into heaven by the "Way of the Holy".

Original text

We color-code the chiastic units of the original text (NIV) below for easy visual identification using: red for Period 1, blue for Period 2 and green for Period 3. We have retranslated parts of the text.

Isaiah 34 1 Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it! 2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their hosts [a]. He will devote them to destruction, [b] he will give them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will melt from [c] their blood. 4 All the stars in the sky will rot, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; [d] all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heaven; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have devoted to destruction [e]. 6a The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams.
6b Truly, [f] the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 The [g] wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 The Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, for the judgement of Zion. [h] 9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! 10a It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever.
10b From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. 11 The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. 12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away. 13 Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. 14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures 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; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.
16 Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:
None of these will fail [i], not one will lack its counterpart [j]. Surely [k] it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together.
17 He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and remain with it [l] from generation to generation.

Retranslation notes for Isaiah 34
[a] vs 2 "hosts" instead of "armies".
[b] vs 2 "devote them to destruction" instead of "totally destroy them".
[c] vs 3 "melt from" instead of "be soaked with".
[d] vs 4 "All the stars in the sky will rot, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll" instead of "All the stars in the sky will be dissolved and the heavens rolled up like a scroll". To fit with the other metaphors of this verse.
[e] vs 5 "devoted to destruction" instead of "totally destroyed".
[f] vs 6 "Truly," instead of "For". For the regular chiasmus.
[g] vs 7 "The" instead of "And the". For the regular chiasmus.
[h] vs 8 "The Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, for the judgement of Zion" instead of "For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion’s cause". Based on the LXX.
[i] vs 16 "fail" instead of "be missing". From the KJV.
[j] vs 16 "its counterpart" instead of "her mate".
[k] vs 16 "Surely" instead of "For".
[l] vs 17 "remain with it" instead of "dwell there".


Isaiah 35 1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.
3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.
8 There will be a highway called the Way of the Holy. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it. [a] 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10 and those the Lord has rescued will go.[b] They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Retranslation notes for Isaiah 35
[a] vs 8 "There will be a highway called the Way of the Holy. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it" instead of "And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it". Based on the Berean Bible.
[b] vs 10 "go" instead of "return". From the Aramaic Bible.

3. Building the reconfigured text

From this parse, it appears that Isaiah 34-35 forms a cryptochiasmus as below:

A1   Ch 34 vs 1-4 Period 3. The wicked are punished in the End Times
  B1   Ch 34 vs 5-6a Period 2. The people of "Edom" are destroyed
    X   Ch 34 vs 6b-10a Period 1. Judah and Idumea are punished in 70AD
  B2   Ch 34 vs 10b - Ch 35 vs 7 Period 2. Satan's empires are destroyed, Israel is restored
A2   Ch 35 vs 8-10 Period 3. The righteous are raptured into heaven

We now reconstruct the passages in the right order based on the chiastic structure above and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X'. The corresponding subunits (for example; subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (for example, A1,A2 is a unit) so that we get a list of such units.

The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

X  [A1,A2]  [B1,B2]        (1)

Translating (1) into verse numbers, we get:

Ch 34 vs 6b-10a   [Ch 34 vs 1-4, Ch 35 vs 8-10]   [Ch 34 vs 5-6a, Ch 34 vs 10b - Ch 35 vs 7]        (2)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).

4. Isaiah 34-35 Reconfigured

The Devastation of Judea and Idumea during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 34 vs 6b-10a)



The Wicked are punished and the Righteous raptured during the Final Tribulation (before 2967AD) (Ch 34 vs 1-4, Ch 35 vs 8-10)



"Edom" is destroyed and Israel is restored at the start of the Millennial Reign (c 2027AD) (Ch 34 vs 5-6a, Ch 34 vs 10b - Ch 35 vs 7)

Chiasmus 1: "Edom" is destroyed and its people are killed (34:5-6a,10b-15)


Chiasmus 2: Israel is restored to spiritual and physical prosperity (34:16-17, 35:1-7)

5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.1 The Devastation of Judea and Idumea during the First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (Ch 34 vs 6b-10a)

By this Period, Edom had been renamed Idumea by the Greeks.

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 vs 34:6b-7 Idumea is destroyed forever
    X vs 34:8 Jerusalem is destroyed
A2 vs 34:9-10a Idumea is destroyed forever

Subunit A1: Idumea is destroyed forever (34:6b-7)

Chapter 34 6b Truly, the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 The wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat.

The Roman attack on Judea during the First Jewish-Roman war extended to Idumea (see also Jer. 49:12-13, Obadiah 1:10), for Idumea had been annexed by the Judahites during the reign of the Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus I (110BC). As in the case of Judea, all the people were killed ("the land is drenched with blood") and their wealth was destroyed (the land is "soaked with fat"), and only those that believed in Christ escaped (see Mark 3:8). This slaughter of the Idumeans is presented as a blood sacrifice (as in Lev. 7), presumably because the destruction of Idumea was a type of the destruction of Satan's empire in Period 2 (cf. Ezekiel 39:17-20). The leadership of Idumea (the "wild oxen", "bull calves", "great bulls") were killed along with the commoners ("them"). Note that Bozrah, a chief city of Idumea, synecdochically represents all of Idumea (cf. Isaiah 63:1-6).

Subunit A1: Jerusalem is destroyed (34:8)

Chapter 34 8 The Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, for the judgement of Zion.

Many wicked Judahites did not believe in Jesus, some even persecuted Christ and his followers, and they were punished with death at this time of judgement. This time of devastation of Jerusalem in 70AD ("year of retribution") is one of the three great Days of the Lord - periods of punishment for the wicked (see Joel 1:15 in our parse of Joel [3]). ( See our parse of the 70 Weeks of Daniel [2] for details on this Period.)

Subunit A2: Idumea is destroyed forever (34:9-10a)

Chapter 34 9 Edom’s streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! 10a It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever.

The uninhabitable land described in this passage figuratively indicates that the Romans devastated Idumea/Edom to such an extent that it forever ceased to be a nation (see Jer. 49:12-13). Hyperbolic imagery is presumably used because this destruction of Idumea/Edom is a type of the destruction of Satan's kingdoms, "Babylon" and the Beast, at the start of the Millennial Reign (Period 2).

5.2 The Wicked are punished and the Righteous raptured during the Final Tribulation (before 2967AD) (Ch 34 vs 1-4, Ch 35 vs 8-10)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 vs 34:1-3 The wicked are punished and the righteous rewarded
    X vs 34:4 The fallen angels lose their power
A2 vs 35:8-10 The wicked are punished and the righteous rewarded

Subunit A1: The wicked are punished and the righteous rewarded (34:1-3)

Chapter 34 1 Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it, the world, and all that comes out of it!

Isaiah invites all the peoples of the world to listen to this prophecy regarding worldwide events that will affect all living beings during the End-Times Tribulation.

Chapter 34 2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is on all their hosts. He will devote them to destruction, he will give them over to slaughter.

God is infuriated with all the nations outside Israel, because many of the people ("hosts") of the nations have chosen to worship other gods and behave wickedly, even though God has clearly made himself known to them (see also Isaiah 2:7-22). God has decided to kill most of the wicked of the earth ("devoted them to destruction").

Chapter 34 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will stink; the mountains will melt from their blood.

During the Final Tribulation, at the 6th Trumpet, a large portion of the people of earth will be killed in a great slaughter (see Rev. 9:13-19). On account of an unmanageable number of simultaneous deaths, their bodies will lie unburied and rot in the open - a death without honour for a wicked people. We take the "mountains" in this passage to represent the nations of the world (cf. for ex Isaiah 11:9); their population will be significantly reduced ("melt") through these mass deaths ("blood").

Puvot X: The fallen angels lose their power (vs 34:4)

Chapter 34 4 All the stars in the sky will rot, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree.

The "stars/hosts" and the "heavens" represent the fallen angels that control the nations of the world outside the New Israel; their power is taken away ("stars rot", "heavens rolled up") and they are destroyed ("stars fall like leaves/figs") at the beginning of the Final Tribulation when Christ returns in glory (similar imagery for this event can be found in Rev. 6:12-14, Isaiah 13:10-11, Luke 21:25,26 and Matthew 24:29).

Subunit A2: The wicked are punished and the righteous rewarded (35:8-10)

Chapter 35 8 There will be a highway called the Way of the Holy. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it 9 No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, 10a and those the Lord has rescued will go.

This passage presumably predicts the rapture of the righteous when Christ returns in glory at the start of the Millennial Reign (Matt. 24:31, Luke 17:34-36). Only the redeemed and righteous ("those who walk in the Way" - John 14:6) will be raptured up by the figurative "Way of the Holy" to heaven ("holy", in this context, means dedicated to God) (see Rev 7:9-17). The wicked ("unclean", "fools", "lions", "ravenous beasts") will not enter this path to heaven - they will be left behind to face the Final Tribulation.

10b They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Later, the righteous will become residents of the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven ("Zion"); they will be joyful forever and no longer face sorrow or suffering (Rev 21).

5.3 "Edom" is destroyed and Israel is restored at the start of the Millennial Reign (c 2027AD) (Ch 34 vs 5-6a, Ch 34 vs 10b - Ch 35 vs 7)

This Period is structured as a series of 2 chiasmi.

Chiasmus 1: "Edom" is destroyed and its people are killed (34:5-6a,10b-15)

Satan's Kingdoms, 'Babylon' and the Beast, are together called 'Edom' in this and a few other other prophecies (for ex. see our parse of Obadiah [4]), but how are Edom and Satan's empires related? It may be that, just as Esau, the father of the Edomites, sold his birthright for a meal (Gen. 25:29-34), Satan's worshippers (those who are a part of 'Babylon' and the Beast) have sold their souls and their inheritance in Christ's eternal kingdom for relatively trifling temporal benefits (see 1 Tim. 6:10, Heb. 12:16,17, see also Malachi 1:1-5).

Note that "Babylon" is an international cabal of Satan worshippers that rules the world. And although the Beast is made up of a group of nations, in this prophecy it refers only to the wicked people that do Satan's bidding in those nations. So "Edom" is not a country, and any passages that treat it like a physical country should be considered figurative.

A1 34:5-6a,10b-11a The people of "Edom" are destroyed
    X 34:11b-12 "Edom" is dismantled
A2 34:13-15 The people of "Edom" are destroyed

Subunit A1: The people of "Edom" are destroyed (34:5-6a,10b-11a)

Chapter 34 5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heaven; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have devoted to destruction. 6a The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat— the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams.

After God has destroyed the fallen angels that controlled Satan's kingdoms of "Babylon" and the Beast ("Edom") in heaven, He comes down to destroy the people of Satan's empire (His sword is bathed in the blood of "lambs", "goats", "rams") and take away their wealth and power ("fat") - they are a people God has marked for destruction (see also Rev 19:17-21).

Chapter 34 10b From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. 11a The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there.

With the people of "Edom" destroyed, it will forever be abandoned (figuratively, "no one will pass through it"; the presence of the "owls" and "ravens" figuratively represent abandonment) (cf. Isaiah 13:20-22; Isaiah 14:23). This thought is expanded on in the corresponding subunit A2 below.

Pivot X: "Edom" is dismantled (34:11b-12)

Chapter 34 11b God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. 12 Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away.

"Edom" is destroyed, so that nothing is left of the evil organisation. The measuring line, and plumb line, usually tools for construction, here represent God's tools for the eternal destruction of Satan's empires. The Satanic leaders of "Babylon" and the Beast ("nobles","princes" - see also Nahum 3:18) will have no organisation to lead, and it will never recover (see also Rev 18).

Subunit A2: The people of "Edom" are destroyed (34:13-15)

Chapter 34 13 Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. 14 Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures 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; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate.

After the slaughter of the people of "Edom", its "land" is left desolate, and this is poetically emphasised with a series of images (cf. Isaiah 13:19-22). Note that "Edom" is made up of an organisation ("Babylon") and an alliance (the 7-headed Beast) and it is not a nation in the common sense of the word, so this entire passage is figurative (the Beast alliance will be dissolved, but the 7 nations that make up the Beast will continue to exist).

Chiasmus 2: Israel is restored to spiritual and physical prosperity (34:16-17, 35:1-7)

The people of these passages are not explicitly identified, but we will consider this chiasmus to be regarding the New Israel, particularly because of vs 35:5.

A1 34:16-17 The Messiah interprets prophecy and Israel is spiritually restored
    X 35:1-4 Israel will be prosperous and protected
A2 35:5-7 The Messiah interprets prophecy and Israel is spiritually restored

Subunit A1: The Messiah interprets prophecy and Israel is spiritually restored (34:16-17)

Chapter 34 16a Look in the scroll of the Lord and read:
None of these will fail, not one will lack its counterpart.

The Israelites will read the prophecies of the Bible ("the scroll of the Lord"), particularly the predictions regarding themselves, and appreciate the accuracy of its predictions. Because every prophecy in the Bible will find its counterpart in fulfilment, without exception ("none will fail").

Chapter 34 16b Surely it is his mouth that has given the order, and his Spirit will gather them together. 17 He allots their portions; his hand distributes them by measure. They will possess it forever and remain with it from generation to generation.

At God's order, the coming Messiah, the Holy Spirit, will gather prophecies from across the Bible, chiastically divide them according to certain principles ("by measure") and allot them to the appropriate entities and Periods (see also Dan 9:24 in [2] and John 14:16,17,26). A large number of prophecies are regarding Israel at the start of and during the Millennial Reign, and so the Israelites of this Period will themselves experience the fulfilment of many of these prophecies. The New Israel will enjoy the blessings predicted in these prophecies ("possess it", "remain with it") throughout the Millennial Reign ("forever", "from generation to generation").

Pivot X: Israel will be prosperous and protected (35:1-4)

Chapter 35 1 The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.

The Israelites had been punished with poverty ("desert", "parched land", "wilderness") for millennia for the sins of their forefathers (see Deut. 28:38-40), but now they will now enjoy prosperity ("blossom","bloom"; Lebanon, Sharon and Carmel were known for their splendorous flora - cf. Isaiah 33:9) (see also Isaiah 51:3...).

Chapter 35 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”

The Israelites need not fear their enemies, as they now have God's protection. He will also take vengeance on those who have harmed them in the past (see also Micah 4:4, Jer. 31:28...).

Subunit A2: The Messiah interprets prophecy and Israel is spiritually restored (35:5-7)

Chapter 35 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. 6 Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. 7 The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

As punishment for the sins of their ancestors, the Israelites had been spiritually blinded to their own God ("blind", "deaf", "lame" and "mute" refer to the spiritual condition of the Israelites) (see Isaiah 29:9-10). But now the Israelites' eyes will be opened, and they will start worshipping the God of their ancestors ("the deaf will hear", "the lame will leap", "the mute will shout for joy") (Eze. 37:23...), partly because they see the prophecies of the Bible come true before them (see corresponding subunit A1). The Israelites will put an end to their idolatry and they will be restored to spiritual prosperity ("Water will gush forth in the desert...").

Conclusion

With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we have shown that Isaiah 34-35 contains prophecies on three distinct Periods. The destruction of Idumea in Period 1 appears to be a type of the destruction of Satan's organizations in Period 2. Also, Period 2 predicts the defeat of the wicked of Satan's organizations and the restoration of Israel at the start of the Millennial Reign, and Period 3 predicts the destruction of the wicked and the rapture of the righteous in the Last Days.

References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Weeks Of Daniel"
[3] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Joel
[4] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Obadiah
[5] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 4-22, Part 2





* First version published on 24 November 2021.