51:6 Get out of Babylonia quickly, you foreign people. 1
Flee to save your lives.
Do not let yourselves be killed because of her sins.
For it is time for the Lord to wreak his revenge.
He will pay Babylonia 2 back for what she has done. 3
13:6 Wail, for the Lord’s day of judgment 4 is near;
it comes with all the destructive power of the sovereign judge. 5
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 6 with fat;
it drips 7 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 8 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 9 in Bozrah, 10
a bloody 11 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 12
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 13
61:2 to announce the year when the Lord will show his favor,
the day when our God will seek vengeance, 14
to console all who mourn,
63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,
and then payback time arrived. 15
1:15 How awful that day will be! 16
For the day of the Lord is near;
it will come as destruction from the Divine Destroyer. 17
2:1 Blow the trumpet 18 in Zion;
sound the alarm signal on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land shake with fear,
for the day of the Lord is about to come.
Indeed, 19 it is near! 20
1:14 The Lord’s great day of judgment 21 is almost here;
it is approaching very rapidly!
There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment;
at that time warriors will cry out in battle. 22
1:15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, 23
a day of distress and hardship,
a day of devastation and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and dark skies,
1 tn The words “you foreign people” are not in the text and many think the referent is the exiles of Judah. While this is clearly the case in v. 45 the referent seems broader here where the context speaks of every man going to his own country (v. 9).
2 tn Heb “her.”
3 tn Heb “paying to her a recompense [i.e., a payment in kind].”
4 tn Heb “the day of the Lord” (so KJV, NAB).
5 tn Heb “like destruction from the sovereign judge it comes.” The comparative preposition (כְּ, kÿ) has here the rhetorical nuance, “in every way like.” The point is that the destruction unleashed will have all the earmarks of divine judgment. One could paraphrase, “it comes as only destructive divine judgment can.” On this use of the preposition in general, see GKC 376 §118.x.
6 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
7 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
8 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
9 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
10 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
11 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
12 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
13 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
14 tn Heb “to announce the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance.
15 tn Heb “for the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my revenge came.” The term גְּאוּלַי (gÿ’ulai) is sometimes translated here “my redemption,” for the verbal root גאל often means “deliver, buy back.” A גֹּאֵל (go’el, “kinsman-redeemer”) was responsible for protecting the extended family’s interests, often by redeeming property that had been sold outside the family. However, the responsibilities of a גֹּאֵל extended beyond financial concerns. He was also responsible for avenging the shed blood of a family member (see Num 35:19-27; Deut 19:6-12). In Isa 63:4, where vengeance is a prominent theme (note the previous line), it is probably this function of the family protector that is in view. The Lord pictures himself as a blood avenger who waits for the day of vengeance to arrive and then springs into action.
16 tn Heb “Alas for the day!”
17 tn There is a wordplay in Hebrew here with the word used for “destruction” (שׁוֹד, shod) and the term used for God (שַׁדַּי, shadday). The exact meaning of “Shaddai” in the OT is somewhat uncertain, although the ancient versions and many modern English versions tend to translate it as “Almighty” (e.g., Greek παντοκράτωρ [pantokratwr], Latin omnipotens). Here it might be rendered “Destroyer,” with the thought being that “destruction will come from the Divine Destroyer,” which should not be misunderstood as a reference to the destroying angel. The name “Shaddai” (outside Genesis and without the element “El” [“God”]) is normally used when God is viewed as the sovereign king who blesses/protects or curses/brings judgment. The name appears in the introduction to two of Balaam’s oracles (Num 24:4, 16) of blessing upon Israel. Naomi employs the name when accusing the Lord of treating her bitterly by taking the lives of her husband and sons (Ruth 1:20-21). In Ps 68:14, Isa 13:6, and the present passage, Shaddai judges his enemies through warfare, while Ps 91:1 depicts him as the protector of his people. In Ezek 1:24 and 10:5 the sound of the cherubs’ wings is compared to Shaddai’s powerful voice. The reference may be to the mighty divine warrior’s battle cry which accompanies his angry judgment.
18 tn The word translated “trumpet” here (so most English versions) is the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofar). The shophar was a wind instrument made from a cow or ram’s horn and used as a military instrument for calling people to attention in the face of danger or as a religious instrument for calling people to occasions of communal celebration.
19 tn Or “for.”
20 sn The interpretation of 2:1-11 is very difficult. Four views may be mentioned here. (1) Some commentators understand this section to be describing a human invasion of Judah on the part of an ancient army. The exact identity of this army (e.g., Assyrian or Babylonian) varies among interpreters depending upon issues of dating for the book of Joel. (2) Some commentators take the section to describe an eschatological scene in which the army according to some is human, or according to others is nonhuman (i.e., angelic). (3) Some interpreters argue for taking the section to refer to the potential advent in the fall season of a severe east wind (i.e., Sirocco) that would further exacerbate the conditions of the land described in chapter one. (4) Finally, some interpreters understand the section to continue the discussion of locust invasion and drought described in chapter one, partly on the basis that there is no clear exegetical evidence in 2:1-11 to suggest a shift of referent from that of chapter one.
21 tn Heb “The great day of the
22 tn Heb “the sound of the day of the
23 tn Heb “a day of wrath.” The word “God’s” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
24 tn Or “of punishment.” This is a time of judgment.
25 tn The passive construction with the infinitive πλησθῆναι (plhsqhnai) has been translated as an active construction for simplicity, in keeping with contemporary English style.