Isaiah 27:1

27:1 At that time ¹  the Lord will punish

with his destructive, ²  great, and powerful sword

Leviathan the fast-moving ³  serpent,

Leviathan the squirming serpent;

he will kill the sea monster. ⁴ 

Isaiah 34:5-10

34:5 He says, ⁵  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ⁶ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ⁷ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

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

it is covered ⁸  with fat;

it drips ⁹  with the blood of young rams and goats

and is covered ¹⁰  with the fat of rams’ kidneys.

For the Lord is holding a sacrifice ¹¹  in Bozrah, ¹² 

a bloody ¹³  slaughter in the land of Edom.

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ¹⁴  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ¹⁵ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ¹⁶ 

a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ¹⁷ 

34:9 Edom’s ¹⁸  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; ¹⁹ 

its smoke will ascend continually.

Generation after generation it will be a wasteland

and no one will ever pass through it again.

Ezekiel 38:21-22

38:21 I will call for a sword to attack ²⁰  Gog ²¹  on all my mountains, declares the sovereign Lord; every man’s sword will be against his brother. 38:22 I will judge him with plague and bloodshed. I will rain down on him, his troops and the many peoples who are with him a torrential downpour, hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Ezekiel 39:2-10

39:2 I will turn you around and drag you along; ²²  I will lead you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 39:3 I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand. 39:4 You will fall dead on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the people who are with you. I give you as food to every kind of bird and every wild beast. 39:5 You will fall dead in the open field; for I have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:6 I will send fire on Magog and those who live securely in the coastlands; then they will know that I am the Lord.

39:7 “‘I will make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. ²³  39:8 Realize that it is coming and it will be done, declares the sovereign Lord. It is the day I have spoken about.

39:9 “‘Then those who live in the cities of Israel will go out and use the weapons for kindling ²⁴  – the shields, ²⁵  bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take ²⁶  wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, ²⁷  declares the sovereign Lord.

Revelation 19:11-21

The Son of God Goes to War

19:11 Then ²⁸  I saw heaven opened and here came ²⁹  a white horse! The ³⁰  one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice ³¹  he judges and goes to war. 19:12 His eyes are like a fiery ³²  flame and there are many diadem crowns ³³  on his head. He has ³⁴  a name written ³⁵  that no one knows except himself. 19:13 He is dressed in clothing dipped ³⁶  in blood, and he is called ³⁷  the Word of God. 19:14 The ³⁸  armies that are in heaven, dressed in white, clean, fine linen, ³⁹  were following him on white horses. 19:15 From his mouth extends a sharp sword, so that with it he can strike the nations. ⁴⁰  He ⁴¹  will rule ⁴²  them with an iron rod, ⁴³  and he stomps the winepress ⁴⁴  of the furious ⁴⁵  wrath of God, the All-Powerful. ⁴⁶  19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

19:17 Then ⁴⁷  I saw one angel standing in ⁴⁸  the sun, and he shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying high in the sky: ⁴⁹ 

“Come, gather around for the great banquet ⁵⁰  of God,

19:18 to eat ⁵¹  your fill ⁵²  of the flesh of kings,

the flesh of generals, ⁵³ 

the flesh of powerful people,

the flesh of horses and those who ride them,

and the flesh of all people, both free and slave, ⁵⁴ 

and small and great!”

19:19 Then ⁵⁵  I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to do battle with the one who rode the horse and with his army. 19:20 Now ⁵⁶  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁵⁷  – signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire burning with sulfur. ⁵⁸  19:21 The ⁵⁹  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ⁶⁰  themselves with their flesh.

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

[27:1]  ² tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”

[27:1]  ³ tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”

[27:1]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[34:6]  ⁸ tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.

[34:6]  ⁹ tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ¹⁰ tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”

[34:6]  ¹² sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.

[34:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[34:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[34:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”

[34:8]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[34:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “it will not be extinguished.”

[38:21]  ²⁰ tn Heb “against.”

[38:21]  ²¹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:2]  ²² tn The Hebrew root occurs only here in the OT. An apparent cognate in the Ethiopic language means “walk along.” For a discussion of the research on this verb, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 2:460.

[39:7]  ²³ sn The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which he rules. At the same time his holiness encompasses his moral authority, which derives from his royal position. As king he has the right to dictate to his subjects how they are to live; indeed his very own character sets the standard for proper behavior. This expression is a common title for the Lord in the book of Isaiah.

[39:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”

[39:9]  ²⁵ tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.

[39:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

[39:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”

[19:11]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:11]  ²⁹ tn The phrase “and here came” expresses the sense of καὶ ἰδού (kai idou).

[19:11]  ³⁰ tn A new sentence was started in the translation at this point and καί (kai) was not translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:11]  ³¹ tn Or “in righteousness,” but since the context here involves the punishment of the wicked and the vindication of the saints, “justice” was preferred.

[19:12]  ³² tn The genitive noun πυρός (puros) has been translated as an attributive genitive (see also Rev 1:14).

[19:12]  ³³ tn For the translation of διάδημα (diadhma) as “diadem crown” see L&N 6.196.

[19:12]  ³⁴ tn Grk “head, having.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[19:12]  ³⁵ tn Although many translations supply a prepositional phrase to specify what the name was written on (“upon Him,” NASB; “on him,” NIV), there is no location for the name specified in the Greek text.

[19:13]  ³⁶ tc It appears that “dipped” (βεβαμμένον, bebammenon), supported by several uncials and other witnesses (A 051 Ï), is the original reading. Due to the lack of the preposition “in” (ἐν, en) after the verb (βεβαμμένον αἵματι, bebammenon {aimati), and also probably because of literary allusions to Isa 63:3, several mss and versions seem to have changed the text to “sprinkled” (either ῥεραντισμένον [rJerantismenon] in P 2329 al; ἐρραντισμένον [errantismenon] in 1006 1841; ἐρραμμένον [errammenon] in 2053 2062; or ῥεραμμένον [rJerammenon] in 1611; or in one case περιρεραμμένον [perirerammenon] in א^[2]). The reading most likely to give rise to the others is “dipped.”

[19:13]  ³⁷ tn Grk “the name of him is called.”

[19:14]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:14]  ³⁹ tn On the term translated “fine linen,” BDAG 185 s.v. βύσσινος states, “made of fine linen, subst. τὸ β. fine linen, linen garment…Rv 18:12, 16; 19:8, 14.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “Gentiles” or “nations”).

[19:15]  ⁴¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:15]  ⁴² tn Grk “will shepherd.”

[19:15]  ⁴³ tn Or “scepter.” The Greek term ῥάβδος (rJabdo") can mean either “rod” or “scepter.”

[19:15]  ⁴⁴ sn He stomps the winepress. See Isa 63:3, where Messiah does this alone (usually several individuals would join in the process), and Rev 14:20.

[19:15]  ⁴⁵ tn The genitive θυμοῦ (qumou) has been translated as an attributed genitive. Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός (qumos) and ὀργή (orgh) in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9).

[19:15]  ⁴⁶ tn On this word BDAG 755 s.v. παντοκράτωρ states, “the Almighty, All-Powerful, Omnipotent (One) only of God…(ὁ) κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ π. …Rv 1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7; 21:22.”

[19:17]  ⁴⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:17]  ⁴⁸ tn The precise significance of ἐν (en) here is difficult to determine.

[19:17]  ⁴⁹ tn On μεσουρανήματι (mesouranhmati) here see L&N 1.10: “high in the sky, midpoint in the sky, directly overhead, straight above in the sky.” The birds mentioned here are carrion birds like vultures, circling high overhead, and now being summoned to feast on the corpses.

[19:17]  ⁵⁰ tn This is the same Greek word (δεῖπνον, deipnon) used in 19:9.

[19:18]  ⁵¹ tn The ἵνα (Jina) clause, insofar as it is related to the first imperative, has the force of an imperative.

[19:18]  ⁵² tn The idea of eating “your fill” is evident in the context with the use of χορτάζω (cortazw) in v. 21.

[19:18]  ⁵³ tn Grk “chiliarchs”; normally a chiliarch was a military officer commanding a thousand soldiers, but here probably used of higher-ranking commanders like generals (see L&N 55.15; cf. Rev 6:15).

[19:18]  ⁵⁴ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

[19:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of an unexpected development in the account: The opposing armies do not come together in battle; rather the leader of one side is captured.

[19:20]  ⁵⁷ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[19:20]  ⁵⁸ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ⁶⁰ tn On the translation of ἐχορτάσθησαν (ecortasqhsan) BDAG 1087 s.v. χορτάζω 1.a states, “of animals, pass. in act. sense πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα ἐχορτάσθησαν ἐκ τῶν σαρκῶν αὐτῶν all the birds gorged themselves with their flesh Rv 19:21 (cp. TestJud. 21:8).”