Isaiah 34:5
3 Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.
4 All the stars of heaven will be dissolved. The skies will be rolled up like a scroll, and all their stars will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree.
When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
6 The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood. It drips with fat— with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
- KJV
- For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
- WEB
- For my sword has drunk its fill in the sky. Behold, it will come down on Edom, and on the people of my curse, for judgment.
- ASV
- For my sword hath drunk its fill in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
- DARBY
- For my sword is bathed in the heavens; behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my ban, to judgment.
- BLB
- For in the heavens My sword has drunk its fill; behold, upon Edom it will come down, and upon the people I have devoted to judgment.
- ÅB
- For mitt sverd er blitt drukkent[^1] i himmelen; se, det skal fare ned over Edom til dom, over det folk jeg har slått med bann.
- OTB
- For Mitt sverd har blitt mettet i himmelen; se, det skal stige ned i dom over Edom, over folket Jeg har viet til ødeleggelse.
- B1930
- For mitt sverd er blitt drukkent i himmelen; se, det skal fare ned over Edom til dom, over det folk jeg har slått med bann. / < av Guds vrede.>
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Jeremiah 46:10
For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
Read in contextIsaiah 63:1
Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
Read in contextMalachi 1:4
Though Edom may say, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, and a people with whom the LORD is indignant forever.
Read in contextAmos 1:11–12
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly.
Read in contextJeremiah 49:7–22
Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom decayed?
Read in contextEzekiel 25:12–14
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,
Read in contextEzekiel 21:3–5
and tell her that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am against you, and I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
Read in contextDeuteronomy 29:18–21
Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,
Read in context