Isaiah 63:1-3

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ¹ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ² 

Who ³  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁴ 

who marches confidently ⁵  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ⁶ 

63:2 Why are your clothes red?

Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? ⁷ 

63:3 “I have stomped grapes in the winepress all by myself;

no one from the nations joined me.

I stomped on them ⁸  in my anger;

I trampled them down in my rage.

Their juice splashed on my garments,

and stained ⁹  all my clothes.

Zechariah 1:8

The Content of the First Vision

1:8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated ¹⁰  on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees ¹¹  in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, ¹²  and white horses.

Zechariah 6:2

6:2 Harnessed to the first chariot were red horses, to the second black horses,

Revelation 6:4

6:4 And another horse, fiery red, ¹³  came out, and the one who rode it ¹⁴  was granted permission ¹⁵  to take peace from the earth, so that people would butcher ¹⁶  one another, and he was given a huge sword.

Revelation 12:3

12:3 Then ¹⁷  another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. ¹⁸ 

¹ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

² tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

³ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

⁴ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

⁵ tc The Hebrew text has צָעָה (tsa’ah), which means “stoop, bend” (51:14). The translation assumes an emendation to צָעַד (tsa’ad, “march”; see BDB 858 s.v. צָעָה).

⁶ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

⁷ tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”

⁸ sn Nations, headed by Edom, are the object of the Lord’s anger (see v. 6). He compares military slaughter to stomping on grapes in a vat.

⁹ tn Heb “and I stained.” For discussion of the difficult verb form, see HALOT 170 s.v. II גאל. Perhaps the form is mixed, combining the first person forms of the imperfect (note the alef prefix) and perfect (note the תי- ending).

¹⁰ tn Heb “riding,” but since this verb in English is usually associated with horses in motion rather than standing still, the translation uses “seated.” Cf. NAB “the driver of a red horse.”

¹¹ tc The LXX presupposes הֶהָרִים (heharim, “mountains”) rather than the MT הַהֲדַסִּים (hahadassim, “myrtles”), probably because of reference to the ravine. The MT reading is preferred and is followed by most English versions.

¹² sn The Hebrew שְׂרֻקִּים (sÿruqqim) means “red” (cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “brown”). English translations such as “speckled” (KJV) or “dappled” (TEV) are based on the reading of the LXX (ψαροί) that attempts to bring the color of this horse into conformity with those described in Zech 6:2-3. However, since these are two different and unrelated visions, this is a methodological fallacy.

¹³ tn L&N 79.31 states, “‘fiery red’ (probably with a tinge of yellow or orange).”

¹⁴ tn Grk “the one sitting on it.”

¹⁵ tn The word “permission” is implied; Grk “it was given to him to take peace from the earth.”

¹⁶ tn BDAG 979 s.v. σφάζω states, “Of the killing of a person by violence…σφάζειν τινά butcher or murder someone (4 Km 10:7; Jer 52:10; Manetho: 609 fgm. 8, 76 Jac. [in Jos., C. Ap. 1, 76]; Demetr.[?]: 722 fgm. 7; Ar. 10, 9) 1J 3:12; Rv 6:4. Pass. (Hdt. 5, 5) 5:9; 6:9; 18:24.”

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

¹⁸ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.