Ezekiel 25:7

25:7 take note, I have stretched out my hand against you, and I will hand you over as plunder ¹  to the nations. I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands. I will destroy you; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Ezekiel 25:16

25:16 So this is what the sovereign Lord says: Take note, I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines. I will kill ²  the Cherethites ³  and destroy those who remain on the seacoast.

Isaiah 34:1-17

The Lord Will Judge Edom

34:1 Come near, you nations, and listen!

Pay attention, you people!

The earth and everything it contains must listen,

the world and everything that lives in it. ⁴ 

34:2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations

and furious with all their armies.

He will annihilate them and slaughter them.

34:3 Their slain will be left unburied, ⁵ 

their corpses will stink; ⁶ 

the hills will soak up their blood. ⁷ 

34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, ⁸ 

the sky will roll up like a scroll;

all its stars will wither,

like a leaf withers and falls from a vine

or a fig withers and falls from a tree. ⁹ 

34:5 He says, ¹⁰  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ¹¹ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ¹² 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,

it is covered ¹³  with fat;

it drips ¹⁴  with the blood of young rams and goats

and is covered ¹⁵  with the fat of rams’ kidneys.

For the Lord is holding a sacrifice ¹⁶  in Bozrah, ¹⁷ 

a bloody ¹⁸  slaughter in the land of Edom.

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ¹⁹  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ²⁰ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ²¹ 

a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ²² 

34:9 Edom’s ²³  streams will be turned into pitch

and her soil into brimstone;

her land will become burning pitch.

34:10 Night and day it will burn; ²⁴ 

its smoke will ascend continually.

Generation after generation it will be a wasteland

and no one will ever pass through it again.

34:11 Owls and wild animals ²⁵  will live there, ²⁶ 

all kinds of wild birds ²⁷  will settle in it.

The Lord ²⁸  will stretch out over her

the measuring line of ruin

and the plumb line ²⁹  of destruction. ³⁰ 

34:12 Her nobles will have nothing left to call a kingdom

and all her officials will disappear. ³¹ 

34:13 Her fortresses will be overgrown with thorns;

thickets and weeds will grow ³²  in her fortified cities.

Jackals will settle there;

ostriches will live there. ³³ 

34:14 Wild animals and wild dogs will congregate there; ³⁴ 

wild goats will bleat to one another. ³⁵ 

Yes, nocturnal animals ³⁶  will rest there

and make for themselves a nest. ³⁷ 

34:15 Owls ³⁸  will make nests and lay eggs ³⁹  there;

they will hatch them and protect them. ⁴⁰ 

Yes, hawks ⁴¹  will gather there,

each with its mate.

34:16 Carefully read the scroll of the Lord! ⁴² 

Not one of these creatures will be missing, ⁴³ 

none will lack a mate. ⁴⁴ 

For the Lord has issued the decree, ⁴⁵ 

and his own spirit gathers them. ⁴⁶ 

34:17 He assigns them their allotment; ⁴⁷ 

he measures out their assigned place. ⁴⁸ 

They will live there ⁴⁹  permanently;

they will settle in it through successive generations.

Isaiah 63:1-6

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁵⁰ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁵¹ 

Who ⁵²  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁵³ 

who marches confidently ⁵⁴  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ⁵⁵ 

63:2 Why are your clothes red?

Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? ⁵⁶ 

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

no one from the nations joined me.

I stomped on them ⁵⁷  in my anger;

I trampled them down in my rage.

Their juice splashed on my garments,

and stained ⁵⁸  all my clothes.

63:4 For I looked forward to the day of vengeance,

and then payback time arrived. ⁵⁹ 

63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help;

I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ⁶⁰ 

So my right arm accomplished deliverance;

my raging anger drove me on. ⁶¹ 

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ⁶²  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ⁶³ 

Lamentations 4:21-22

The Prophet Speaks:

ש (Sin/Shin)

4:21 Rejoice and be glad for now, ⁶⁴  O people of Edom, ⁶⁵ 

who reside in the land of Uz.

But the cup of judgment ⁶⁶  will pass ⁶⁷  to you also;

you will get drunk and take off your clothes.

ת (Tav)

4:22 O people of Zion, ⁶⁸  your punishment ⁶⁹  will come to an end; ⁷⁰ 

he will not prolong your exile. ⁷¹ 

But, O people of Edom, ⁷²  he will punish ⁷³  your sin ⁷⁴ 

and reveal ⁷⁵  your offenses!

Malachi 1:3-4

1:3 and rejected Esau. ⁷⁶  I turned Esau’s ⁷⁷  mountains into a deserted wasteland ⁷⁸  and gave his territory ⁷⁹  to the wild jackals.”

1:4 Edom ⁸⁰  says, “Though we are devastated, we will once again build the ruined places.” So the Lord who rules over all ⁸¹  responds, “They indeed may build, but I will overthrow. They will be known as ⁸²  the land of evil, the people with whom the Lord is permanently displeased.

[25:7]  ¹ tc The translation here follows the marginal reading (Qere) of the Hebrew text. The consonantal text (Kethib) is meaningless.

[25:16]  ² tn In Hebrew the verb “and I will cut off” sounds like its object, “the Cherethites,” and draws attention to the statement.

[25:16]  ³ sn This is a name for the Philistines, many of whom migrated to Palestine from Crete.

[34:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the world and its offspring”; NASB “the world and all that springs from it.”

[34:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”

[34:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”

[34:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”

[34:4]  ⁸ tc Heb “and all the host of heaven will rot.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a inserts “and the valleys will be split open,” but this reading may be influenced by Mic 1:4. On the other hand, the statement, if original, could have been omitted by homoioarcton, a scribe’s eye jumping from the conjunction prefixed to “the valleys” to the conjunction prefixed to the verb “rot.”

[34:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”

[34:5]  ¹⁰ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[34:6]  ¹³ tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.

[34:6]  ¹⁴ tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ¹⁵ tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”

[34:6]  ¹⁷ sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.

[34:6]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[34:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[34:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”

[34:8]  ²² 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.”

[34:9]  ²³ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:10]  ²⁴ tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”

[34:11]  ²⁵ tn קָאַת (qa’at) refers to some type of bird (cf. Lev 11:18; Deut 14:17) that was typically found near ruins (see Zeph 2:14). קִפּוֹד (qippod) may also refer to a type of bird (NAB “hoot owl”; NIV “screech owl”; TEV “ravens”), but some have suggested a rodent may be in view (cf. NCV “small animals”; ASV “porcupine”; NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”).

[34:11]  ²⁶ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV).

[34:11]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew text has יַנְשׁוֹף וְעֹרֵב (yanshof vÿ’orev). Both the יַנְשׁוֹף (“owl”; see Lev 11:17; Deut 14:16) and עֹרֵב (“raven”; Lev 11:15; Deut 14:14) were types of wild birds.

[34:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “stones,” i.e., the stones used in a plumb bob.

[34:11]  ³⁰ sn The metaphor in v. 11b emphasizes that God has carefully planned Edom’s demise.

[34:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “will be nothing”; NCV, TEV, NLT “will all be gone.”

[34:13]  ³² tn The words “will grow” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:13]  ³³ tc Heb “and she will be a settlement for wild dogs, a dwelling place for ostriches.” The translation assumes an emendation of חָצִיר (khatsir, “grass”) to חָצֵר (khatser, “settlement”). One of the Qumran scrolls of Isaiah (1QIsa^a) supports this emendation (cf. HALOT 344 s.v. II חָצִיר)

[34:14]  ³⁴ tn Heb “will meet” (so NIV); NLT “will mingle there.”

[34:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and a goat will call to its neighbor.”

[34:14]  ³⁶ tn The precise meaning of לִּילִית (lilit) is unclear, though in this context the word certainly refers to some type of wild animal or bird. The word appears to be related to לַיְלָה (laylah, “night”). Some interpret it as the name of a female night demon, on the basis of an apparent Akkadian cognate used as the name of a demon. Later Jewish legends also identified Lilith as a demon. Cf. NRSV “Lilith.”

[34:14]  ³⁷ tn Heb “and will find for themselves a resting place.”

[34:15]  ³⁸ tn Hebrew קִפּוֹז (qippoz) occurs only here; the precise meaning of the word is uncertain.

[34:15]  ³⁹ tn For this proposed meaning for Hebrew מָלַט (malat), see HALOT 589 s.v. I מלט.

[34:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “and brood [over them] in her shadow.”

[34:15]  ⁴¹ tn The precise meaning of דַּיָּה (dayyah) is uncertain, though the term appears to refer to some type of bird of prey, perhaps a vulture.

[34:16]  ⁴² tn Heb “Seek from upon the scroll of the Lord and read.”

[34:16]  ⁴³ tn Heb “one from these will not be missing.” הֵנָּה (hennah, “these”) is feminine plural in the Hebrew text. It may refer only to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or may include all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:16]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “each its mate they will not lack.”

[34:16]  ⁴⁵ tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “for a mouth, it has commanded.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a and a few medieval mss have פִּיהוּ (pihu, “his mouth [has commanded]”), while a few other medieval mss read פִּי יְהוָה (pi yÿhvah, “the mouth of the Lord [has commanded]”).

[34:16]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “and his spirit, he gathers them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and he causes the lot to fall for them.” Once again the pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, referring to the birds mentioned in v. 15b or to all of the creatures listed in vv. 14b-15 (all of which are identified with feminine nouns).

[34:17]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “and his hand divides for them with a measuring line.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) now switches to masculine plural, referring to all the animals and birds mentioned in vv. 11-15, some of which were identified with masculine nouns. This signals closure for this portion of the speech, which began in v. 11. The following couplet (v. 17b) forms an inclusio with v. 11a through verbal repetition.

[34:17]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “will possess it” (so NIV); NCV “they will own that land forever.”

[63:1]  ⁵⁰ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁵² tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ⁵³ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ⁵⁴ 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).

[63:1]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[63:2]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”

[63:3]  ⁵⁷ 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.

[63:3]  ⁵⁸ 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).

[63:4]  ⁵⁹ 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.

[63:5]  ⁶⁰ sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.

[63:5]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”

[63:6]  ⁶² sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[4:21]  ⁶⁴ tn The phrase “for now” is added in the translation to highlight the implied contrast between the present joy of the Gentiles (4:21a) and their future judgment (4:21b).

[4:21]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “O Daughter of Edom.”

[4:21]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “the cup.” Judgment is often depicted as a cup of wine that God forces a person to drink, causing him to lose consciousness, red wine drooling out of his mouth – resembling corpses lying on the ground as a result of the actual onslaught of the Lord’s judgment. The drunkard will reel and stagger, causing bodily injury to himself – an apt metaphor to describe the devastating effects of God’s judgment. Just as a cup of poison kills all those who are forced to drink it, the cup of God’s wrath destroys all those who must drink it (e.g., Ps 75:9; Isa 51:17, 22; Jer 25:15, 17, 28; 49:12; 51:7; Lam 4:21; Ezek 23:33; Hab 2:16).

[4:21]  ⁶⁷ tn The imperfect verb “will pass” may also be a jussive, continuing the element of request, “let the cup pass…”

[4:22]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “O Daughter Zion.”

[4:22]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “your iniquity.” The noun עָוֹן (’avon) has a broad range of meanings, including: (1) iniquity, (2) guilt of iniquity, and (3) consequence or punishment for iniquity (cause-effect metonymical relation). The context suggests that “punishment for sin” is most appropriate here (e.g., Gen 4:13; 19:15; Exod 28:38, 43; Lev 5:1, 17; 7:18; 10:17; 16:22; 17:16; 19:8; 20:17, 19; 22:16; 26:39, 41, 43; Num 5:31; 14:34; 18:1, 23; 30:15; 1 Sam 25:24; 28:10; 2 Sam 14:9; 2 Kgs 7:9; Job 10:14; Pss 31:11; 69:28; 106:43; Prov 5:22; Isa 5:18; 30:13; 40:2; 53:6, 11; 64:5, 6; Jer 51:6; Lam 4:22; 5:7; Ezek 4:4-6, 17; 7:16; 14:10; 18:19-20; 21:30, 34; 24:23; 32:27; 35:5; 39:23; 44:10, 12).

[4:22]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “will be completed.” The perfect tense verb תַּם (tam), Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular from תָּמַם (tamam, “to be complete”), could be taken as a precative perfect expressing a request (“may your punishment be complete”). The translation understands it as an example of the so-called “prophetic perfect.” The perfect tense often describes actions that are viewed as complete (normally past- or present-time events). When the perfect tense describes a future event, it often depicts it as “complete,” that is, “as good as done” or certain to take place from the viewpoint of the prophet. Thus, by using the perfect tense, Jeremiah may be emphasizing the certainty that the exile will eventually come to an end. It has also been viewed as a simple perfect “your punishment is ended.”

[4:22]  ⁷¹ tn The verb לֹא יוֹסִיף (lo’ yosif) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[4:22]  ⁷² tn Heb “O Daughter of Edom.”

[4:22]  ⁷³ tn The verb פָּקַד (paqad) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[4:22]  ⁷⁴ tn The noun עָוֹן (’avon) is repeated twice in this verse: its first occurrence means “punishment for iniquity” (v. 22a), and its second usage means “iniquity” (v. 22b). See preceding translator’s note on the broad range of meanings of this word. The repetition of the same root with different meanings creates an ironic polysemantic wordplay: Zion’s “punishment” for its sin is about to come to an end; however, the punishment for Edom’s “sin” is about to begin.

[4:22]  ⁷⁵ tn The verb גִּלָּה (gillah) could be taken as a precative perfect, making a request to God. See the note at the beginning of the verse.

[1:3]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “and I loved Jacob, but Esau I hated.” The context indicates this is technical covenant vocabulary in which “love” and “hate” are synonymous with “choose” and “reject” respectively (see Deut 7:8; Jer 31:3; Hos 3:1; 9:15; 11:1).

[1:3]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Esau) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:3]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “I set his mountains as a desolation.”

[1:3]  ⁷⁹ tn Or “inheritance” (so NIV, NLT).

[1:4]  ⁸⁰ sn Edom, a “brother” nation to Israel, became almost paradigmatic of hostility toward Israel and God (see Num 20:14-21; Deut 2:8; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obad 10-12).

[1:4]  ⁸¹ sn The epithet Lord who rules over all occurs frequently as a divine title throughout Malachi (24 times total). This name (יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, yÿhvah tsÿva’ot), traditionally translated “Lord of hosts” (so KJV, NAB, NASB; cf. NIV NLT “Lord Almighty”; NCV, CEV “Lord All-Powerful”), emphasizes the majestic sovereignty of the Lord, an especially important concept in the postexilic world of great human empires and rulers. For a thorough study of the divine title, see T. N. D. Mettinger, In Search of God, 123-57.

[1:4]  ⁸² tn Heb “and they will call them.” The third person plural subject is indefinite; one could translate, “and people will call them.”