'Desolate' in the Bible

Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

I will not drive them out before you in a single year, so that the land does not become desolate [due to lack of attention] and the [wild] animals of the field do not become too numerous for you.

I will let loose the [wild] animals of the field among you, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you so few in number that your roads will lie deserted and desolate.

I will scatter you among the nations and draw out the sword [of your enemies] after you; your land will become desolate and your cities will become ruins.

‘Then the land [of Israel] will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.

As long as it lies desolate, it will have rest, the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths, while you were living on it.

But the land will be abandoned by them and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment for their wickedness and make amends because they rejected My ordinances and their soul rejected My statutes.

So her brother Absalom said to her, “Has your brother Amnon been with you? But now keep silent, my sister; he is your brother; do not take this matter to heart.” So Tamar remained secluded in her brother Absalom’s house.

to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had restored its Sabbaths; for as long as the land lay desolate it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete.

With kings and counselors of the earth,Who built up [now desolate] ruins for themselves;

And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities,In houses which no one should inhabit,Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

“But now God has exhausted me.You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.

To satisfy the barren and desolate groundAnd to make the seeds of grass to sprout?

Let those be appalled and desolate because of their shameWho say to me, “Aha, aha [rejoicing in my misfortune]!”

God makes a home for the lonely;He leads the prisoners into prosperity,Only the stubborn and rebellious dwell in a parched land.

I am like a [mournful] vulture of the wilderness;I am like a [desolate] owl of the wasteland.

Open your mouth for the mute,For the rights of all who are unfortunate and defenseless;

Your land lies desolate [because of your disobedience],Your cities are burned with fire,Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your very presence;It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.

In my ears the Lord of hosts said, “Be assured that many houses will become desolate,Even great and beautiful ones will be unoccupied.

Then the lambs will graze [among the ruins] as in their own pasture,And strangers will eat in the desolate places of the [exiled] wealthy.

Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,And houses are without peopleAnd the land is utterly desolate,

These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places.

This is what the Lord says,“In a favorable time I have answered You,And in a day of salvation I have helped You;And I will keep watch over You and give You for a covenant of the people,To restore the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and give as inheritances the deserted hereditary lands,

“For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction—Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,And those who once engulfed you will be far away.

“Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerousThan the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.

“For you will spread out to the right and to the left;And your descendants will take possession of nationsAnd will inhabit deserted cities.

It will no longer be said of you [Judah], “Azubah (Abandoned),”Nor will it any longer be said of your land, “Shemamah (Desolate)”;But you will be called, “Hephzibah (My Delight is in Her),”And your land, “Married”;For the Lord delights in you,And to Him your land will be married [owned and protected by the Lord].

“A lion has left his lair,And a destroyer of nations is on his way.He has gone out from his placeTo desolate your land;Your cities will be in ruinsWithout an inhabitant.

And you, O desolate one, what will you do?Though you clothe yourself in scarlet,Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,You make yourself beautiful in vain.Your lovers (allies) despise you;They seek your life.

Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know nor recognize YouAnd on the families that do not call Your name.For they have devoured Jacob;They have devoured him and consumed himAnd made his land a desolate waste.

“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah),They have trampled My field underfoot;They have made My pleasant fieldA desolate wilderness.

“They have made it a wasteland,Desolate, it mourns before Me;The whole land has been made a wasteland,Because no man takes it to heart.

Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh [after the ark of the Lord had been taken by our enemies] and this city [Jerusalem] will be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered around Jeremiah in the [outer area of the] house of the Lord.

Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.”

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place of which you say, “It is a [desolate] waste, without man and without animal”—even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal—

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this desolate place—[a place] without man or animal—and in all its cities, pastures for shepherds who rest their flocks.

Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; so they have become a ruin and a desolation, as it is this day.

“O you daughter who dwells in Egypt and you who dwell with her,Prepare yourselves [with all you will need] to go into exile,For Memphis will become desolate;It will even be burned down and without inhabitant.

“Give a gravestone to Moab,For she will fall into ruins;Her cities (pastures, farms) will be desolate,Without anyone to live in them.

“Moab has been made desolate and his cities have gone up [in smoke and flame];And his chosen young men have gone down to the slaughter,”Says the King, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,“When I will cause an alarm of war to be heardAgainst Rabbah of the Ammonites;And it [along with the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap,And its villages will be set on fire.Then will Israel take possession of his possessors,”Says the Lord.

Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has devised against Edom, and [hear] what He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will be dragged away, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their dwelling place desolate because of them.

For out of the north a nation (Media) has come against her which will make her land desolate, and no one will live there. They have fled, they have gone away—both man and animal.

“Because of the wrath of the Lord she will not be inhabitedBut she will be completely desolate;Everyone who goes by Babylon will be appalledAnd will hiss (mock) at all her wounds and plagues.

Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has devised against Babylon, and hear what He has purposed against [the inhabitants of the land of] the Chaldeans: surely they will be dragged away, [even] the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their habitation desolate because of them.

“Behold, I am against you,O destroying mountain [conqueror of nations],Who destroys the whole earth,” declares the Lord,“I will stretch out My hand against you,And roll you down from the [rugged] cliffs,And will make you a burnt mountain (extinct volcano).

“They will not take from you [even] a stone for a cornerstoneNor any rock for a foundation,But you will be desolate forever,” says the Lord.

You who have escaped the sword,Go away! Do not stay!Remember the Lord from far away,And let [desolate] Jerusalem come into your mind.

and say, ‘You, O Lord, have promised concerning this place to cut it off and destroy it, so that there shall be nothing living in it, neither man nor animal, but it will be perpetually desolate.’

The roads to Zion are in mourningBecause no one comes to the appointed feasts.All her gates are desolate;Her priests are groaning,Her virgins are grieved and suffering,And she suffers bitterly.

“I weep for these things;My eyes overflow with tears,Because a comforter,One who could restore my soul, is far away from me.My children are desolate and perishing,For the enemy has prevailed.”

He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;He has made me desolate.

As for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,Foxes and the jackals prowl over it.

and your altars will become deserted and your pillars for sun-worship will be smashed in pieces; and I will throw down your slain in front of your idols [that cannot bring them back to life].

Everywhere you live, the cities will become waste and the high places will become deserted, so that your altars may bear their guilt and become deserted, your idols may be broken and destroyed, your incense altars [for sun-worship] may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out.

And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a more desolate waste than the wilderness toward Diblah [the Moabite city], throughout all the places where they live; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’”

“If I were to cause predatory beasts to pass through the land and they ravaged it and depopulated it of children, and it became desolate so that no one would pass through because of the predators,

though these three men were in the land, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they could not save either their sons or their daughters. They alone would be saved, but the land would be desolate (ruined, deserted).

I will make the land desolate (ruined, deserted), because they have acted unfaithfully [through their idolatry],’ says the Lord God.”

and I pronounced them unclean because of their offerings [to their idols], in that they made all their firstborn pass through the fire [as pagan sacrifices], so that I might make them desolate, in order that they might know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

And say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God, for thus says the Lord God, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate and against the house of Judah when they went into exile,

therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and I will cut off and destroy man and beast. I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the people is broken; she is open to me. I will be filled, now that she is a desolate waste,’

For thus says the Lord God, “When I make you a desolate city, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and great waters cover you,

then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory and splendor in the land of the living.

“And I will make the rivers [of the Nile delta] dryAnd sell the land into the hands of evil men;I will make the land desolateAnd all that is in it,By the hand of strangers. I the Lord have spoken.”

“I will make Pathros desolate,Set fire to ZoanAnd execute judgments and punishments on Thebes.

“When I make the land of Egypt desolate,And the country is stripped and deprived of all that which filled it,When I strike all those who live in it,Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

And I will make the land [of Israel] a desolation and a ruin, and her pride in her power will be brought to an end; and the mountains of Israel will be so deserted that no one will pass through.

“I will destroy your citiesAnd you will become a wasteland.Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

Then you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord, and that I have heard all your scornful speeches which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They have been made a wasteland; they have been given to us as food.’

As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel because it was desolate, so I will do to you; you will be a desolate waste, O Mount Seir, and all Edom, all of it. Then they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’

Therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, to the desolate ruins and to the deserted cities which have become prey and a mockery to the rest of the nations which surround you,

The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by.

Then they will say, ‘This land that was deserted and desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the waste, desolate, and ruined cities are fortified and inhabited.’

Then the nations that are left around you will know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and planted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and will do it.”

to take spoil and seize plunder, to turn your hand against the ruins which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world [Israel].’

Then I heard a holy one (angel) speaking, and another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “How much time will be required to complete the vision regarding the regular sacrifice, the transgression that brings horror, and the trampling underfoot of both the sanctuary and the host [of the people]?”

Now therefore, our God, listen to (heed) the prayer of Your servant (Daniel) and his supplications, and for Your own sake let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.

And he will enter into a binding and irrevocable covenant with the many for one week (seven years), but in the middle of the week he will stop the sacrifice and grain offering [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until the complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who causes the horror.”

Armed forces of his will arise [in Jerusalem] and defile and desecrate the sanctuary, the [spiritual] stronghold, and will do away with the regular sacrifice [that is, the daily burnt offering]; and they will set up [a pagan altar in the sanctuary which is] the abomination of desolation.

From the time that the regular sacrifice [that is, the daily burnt offering] is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up [ruining the temple for worship of the true God], there will be 1,290 days.

Samaria will be found guilty [and become desolate],Because she rebelled against her God;They will fall by the sword,Their infants will be dashed in pieces,And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

The seeds [of grain] shrivel under the clods,The storehouses are desolate and empty,The barns are in ruinsBecause the grain is dried up.

Before them a fire devours,And behind them a flame burns;Before them the land is like the Garden of Eden,But behind them a desolate wilderness;And nothing at all escapes them.

“But I will remove the northern army far away from you,And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,With its forward guard into the eastern sea (Dead Sea)And with its rear guard into the western sea (Mediterranean Sea).And its stench will arise and its foul odor of decay will come up [this is the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord],For He has done great things.”

Egypt will become a waste,And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,Because of their violence against the children of Judah,In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

“And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) will be devastated and deserted,And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.Then I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword [and destroy the monarchy].”

“So also I will make you sick, striking you down,Desolating and devastating you, because of your sins.

Yet the earth [beyond the land of Israel] shall become desolate because of those who dwell in it,Because of the fruit of their deeds.

“I [the Lord] have cut off and destroyed nations [as a warning to Judah];Their corner towers (battlements) are in ruins.I have made their streets desolateSo that no one passes by;Their cities are destroyedSo that there is no man, there is no inhabitant.

“but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after they had gone, so that no one passed through or returned, for they [by their sins] had made the pleasant land desolate and deserted.”

Listen carefully: your house is being left to you desolate [completely abandoned by God and destitute of His protection]!

“So when you see the abomination of desolation [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand),

When the day was nearly gone, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is an isolated place, and it is already late;

His disciples replied to Him, “Where will anyone be able to find enough bread here in this isolated place to feed these people?”

“I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.

For it is written [in the Scriptures],“Rejoice, o barren woman who has not given birth;Break forth into a [joyful] shout, you who are not in labor;For the desolate woman has many more childrenThan she who has a husband.”

Now a woman who is really a widow and has been left [entirely] alone [without adequate income] trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day.