Deuteronomy 32:41

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ¹ 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ² 

Isaiah 27:1

27:1 At that time ³  the Lord will punish

with his destructive, ⁴  great, and powerful sword

Leviathan the fast-moving ⁵  serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent;

he will kill the sea monster. ⁶ 

Isaiah 34:5

34:5 He says, ⁷  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ⁸ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ⁹ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

Ezekiel 21:9-11

21:9 “Son of man, prophesy and say: ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘A sword, a sword is sharpened,

and also polished.

21:10 It is sharpened for slaughter,

it is polished to flash like lightning!

“‘Should we rejoice in the scepter of my son? No! The sword despises every tree! ¹⁰ 

21:11 “‘He gave it to be polished,

to be grasped in the hand –

the sword is sharpened, it is polished –

giving it into the hand of the executioner.

Ezekiel 21:23

21:23 But those in Jerusalem ¹¹  will view it as a false omen. They have sworn solemn oaths, ¹²  but the king of Babylon ¹³  will accuse them of violations ¹⁴  in order to seize them. ¹⁵ 

[32:41]  ¹ tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ² tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[27:1]  ³ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).

[27:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”

[27:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”

[27:1]  ⁶ tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)

[34:5]  ⁷ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ⁸ tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”

[34:5]  ⁹ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[21:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Or shall we rejoice, scepter of my son, it despises every tree.” The translation understands the subject of the verb “despises,” which is a feminine form in the Hebrew text, to be the sword (which is a feminine noun) mentioned just before this. Alternatively, the line may be understood as “let us not rejoice, O tribe of my son; it despises every tree.” The same word in Hebrew may be either “rod,” “scepter,” or “tribe.” The word sometimes translated as “or” or taken as an interrogative particle may be a negative particle. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:672, n. 79.

[21:23]  ¹¹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the people in Jerusalem) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:23]  ¹² sn When the people of Judah realized the Babylonians’ intentions, they would object on grounds that they had made a treaty with the Babylonian king (see 17:13).

[21:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of Babylon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[21:23]  ¹⁴ tn Or “iniquity.”

[21:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and he will remind of guilt for the purpose of being captured.” The king would counter their objections by pointing out that they had violated their treaty with him (see 17:18).