Joel 3:2

3:2 Then I will gather all the nations,

and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. ¹ 

I will enter into judgment ²  against them there

concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, ³ 

whom they scattered among the nations.

They partitioned my land,

Isaiah 34:2-8

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, ⁴ 

their corpses will stink; ⁵ 

the hills will soak up their blood. ⁶ 

34:4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, ⁷ 

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. ⁸ 

34:5 He says, ⁹  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ¹⁰ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ¹¹ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

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

it is covered ¹²  with fat;

it drips ¹³  with the blood of young rams and goats

and is covered ¹⁴  with the fat of rams’ kidneys.

For the Lord is holding a sacrifice ¹⁵  in Bozrah, ¹⁶ 

a bloody ¹⁷  slaughter in the land of Edom.

34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered ¹⁸  along with them,

as well as strong bulls. ¹⁹ 

Their land is drenched with blood,

their soil is covered with fat.

34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, ²⁰ 

a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. ²¹ 

Isaiah 63:1-7

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ²² 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ²³ 

Who ²⁴  is this one wearing royal attire, ²⁵ 

who marches confidently ²⁶  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ²⁷ 

63:2 Why are your clothes red?

Why do you look like someone who has stomped on grapes in a vat? ²⁸ 

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

no one from the nations joined me.

I stomped on them ²⁹  in my anger;

I trampled them down in my rage.

Their juice splashed on my garments,

and stained ³⁰  all my clothes.

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

and then payback time arrived. ³¹ 

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

I was shocked because there was no one offering support. ³² 

So my right arm accomplished deliverance;

my raging anger drove me on. ³³ 

63:6 I trampled nations in my anger,

I made them drunk ³⁴  in my rage,

I splashed their blood on the ground.” ³⁵ 

A Prayer for Divine Intervention

63:7 I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord,

of the Lord’s praiseworthy deeds.

I will tell about all ³⁶  the Lord did for us,

the many good things he did for the family of Israel, ³⁷ 

because of ³⁸  his compassion and great faithfulness.

Ezekiel 38:8-23

38:8 After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come to a land restored from the ravages of war, ³⁹  with many peoples gathered on the mountains of Israel that had long been in ruins. Its people ⁴⁰  were brought out from the peoples, and all of them will be living securely. 38:9 You will advance; ⁴¹  you will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud covering the earth, you, all your troops, and the many other peoples with you.

38:10 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind, ⁴²  and you will devise an evil plan. 38:11 You will say, “I will invade ⁴³  a land of unwalled towns; I will advance against ⁴⁴  those living quietly in security – all of them living without walls and barred gates – 38:12 to loot and plunder, to attack ⁴⁵  the inhabited ruins and the people gathered from the nations, who are acquiring cattle and goods, who live at the center ⁴⁶  of the earth.” 38:13 Sheba and Dedan and the traders of Tarshish with all its young warriors ⁴⁷  will say to you, “Have you come to loot? Have you assembled your armies to plunder, to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to haul away a great amount of spoils?”’

38:14 “Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice ⁴⁸  38:15 and come from your place, from the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a vast army. 38:16 You will advance ⁴⁹  against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself ⁵⁰  through you, O Gog.

38:17 “‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days by my servants ⁵¹  the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days ⁵²  that I would bring you against them? 38:18 On that day, when Gog invades ⁵³  the land of Israel, declares the sovereign Lord, my rage will mount up in my anger. 38:19 In my zeal, in the fire of my fury, ⁵⁴  I declare that on that day there will be a great earthquake ⁵⁵  in the land of Israel. 38:20 The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake ⁵⁶  at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs ⁵⁷  will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 38:21 I will call for a sword to attack ⁵⁸  Gog ⁵⁹  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. 38:23 I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’

Ezekiel 39:8-20

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 ⁶⁰  – the shields, ⁶¹  bows and arrows, war clubs and spears – they will burn them for seven years. 39:10 They will not need to take ⁶²  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, ⁶³  declares the sovereign Lord.

39:11 “‘On that day I will assign Gog a grave in Israel. It will be the valley of those who travel east of the sea; it will block the way of the travelers. There they will bury Gog and all his horde; they will call it the valley of Hamon-Gog. ⁶⁴  39:12 For seven months Israel ⁶⁵  will bury them, in order to cleanse the land. 39:13 All the people of the land will bury them, and it will be a memorial ⁶⁶  for them on the day I magnify myself, declares the sovereign Lord. 39:14 They will designate men to scout continually ⁶⁷  through the land, burying those who remain on the surface of the ground, ⁶⁸  in order to cleanse it. They will search for seven full months. 39:15 When the scouts survey ⁶⁹  the land and see a human bone, they will place a sign by it, until those assigned to burial duty have buried it ⁷⁰  in the valley of Hamon-Gog. 39:16 (A city by the name of Hamonah ⁷¹  will also be there.) They will cleanse the land.’

39:17 “As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: ‘Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter ⁷²  which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood. 39:18 You will eat the flesh of warriors ⁷³  and drink the blood of the princes of the earth – the rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fattened animals of Bashan. 39:19 You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, ⁷⁴  at my slaughter ⁷⁵  which I have made for you. 39:20 You will fill up at my table with horses and charioteers, ⁷⁶  with warriors and all the soldiers,’ declares the sovereign Lord.

Revelation 16:14-16

16:14 For they are the spirits of the demons performing signs who go out to the kings of the earth ⁷⁷  to bring them together for the battle that will take place on the great day of God, the All-Powerful. ⁷⁸ 

16:15 (Look! I will come like a thief!

Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose ⁷⁹  his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition ⁸⁰  be seen.) ⁸¹ 

16:16 Now ⁸²  the spirits ⁸³  gathered the kings and their armies ⁸⁴  to the place that is called Armageddon ⁸⁵  in Hebrew.

Revelation 19:19-21

19:19 Then ⁸⁶  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 ⁸⁷  the beast was seized, and along with him the false prophet who had performed the signs on his behalf ⁸⁸  – 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. ⁸⁹  19:21 The ⁹⁰  others were killed by the sword that extended from the mouth of the one who rode the horse, and all the birds gorged ⁹¹  themselves with their flesh.

[3:2]  ¹ sn There is a play on words here. Jehoshaphat in Hebrew means “the Lord has judged,” and the next line in v. 2 further explicates this thought. The location of this valley is uncertain (cf. v. 12). Many interpreters have understood the Valley of Jehoshaphat to be the Kidron Valley, located on the east side of old Jerusalem. Since this is described as a scene of future messianic activity and judgment, many Jews and Muslims have desired to be buried in the vicinity, a fact attested to in modern times by the presence of many graves in the area. A variation of this view is mentioned by Eusebius, Onomasticon 1:10. According to this view, the Valley of Jehoshaphat is located in the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the old city. Yet another view is held by many modern scholars, who understand the reference to this valley to be one of an idealized and nonliteral scene of judgment.

[3:2]  ² tn Heb “I will execute judgment.”

[3:2]  ³ tn Heb “concerning my people and my inheritance Israel.”

[34:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “will be cast aside”; NASB, NIV “thrown out.”

[34:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “[as for] their corpses, their stench will arise.”

[34:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “hills will dissolve from their blood.”

[34:4]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “like the withering of a leaf from a vine, and like the withering from a fig tree.”

[34:5]  ⁹ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.

[34:6]  ¹² tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.

[34:6]  ¹³ tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

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

[34:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”

[34:6]  ¹⁶ sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.

[34:6]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[34:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”

[34:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.

[34:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”

[34:8]  ²¹ 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.”

[63:1]  ²² sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ²³ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ²⁴ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ²⁶ 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]  ²⁷ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[63:2]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and your garments like one who treads in a vat?”

[63:3]  ²⁹ 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]  ³⁰ 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]  ³¹ 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]  ³² sn See Isa 59:16 for similar language.

[63:5]  ³³ tn Heb “and my anger, it supported me”; NIV “my own wrath sustained me.”

[63:6]  ³⁴ sn See Isa 49:26 and 51:23 for similar imagery.

[63:6]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and I brought down to the ground their juice.” “Juice” refers to their blood (see v. 3).

[63:7]  ³⁶ tn Heb “according to all which.”

[63:7]  ³⁷ tn Heb “greatness of goodness to the house of Israel which he did for them.”

[63:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “according to.”

[38:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “from the sword.”

[38:8]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “it.”

[38:9]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “go up.”

[38:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “words will go up upon your heart.”

[38:11]  ⁴³ tn Heb “go up against.”

[38:11]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “come (to).”

[38:12]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “to turn your hand against.”

[38:12]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew term occurs elsewhere only in Judg 9:37. Perhaps it means “high point, top.”

[38:13]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “young lions.”

[38:14]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew text is framed as a rhetorical question: “will you not take notice?”

[38:16]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “come up.”

[38:16]  ⁵⁰ tn Or “reveal my holiness.”

[38:17]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “by the hand of my servants.”

[38:17]  ⁵² tn The Hebrew text adds “years” here, but this is probably a scribal gloss on the preceding phrase. See L. C. Allen, Ezekiel (WBC), 2:201.

[38:18]  ⁵³ tn Heb “goes up against.”

[38:19]  ⁵⁴ sn The phrase “in the fire of my fury” occurs in Ezek 21:31; 22:21, 31.

[38:19]  ⁵⁵ tn Or “shaking.”

[38:20]  ⁵⁶ tn Or “tremble.”

[38:20]  ⁵⁷ tn The term occurs only here and in Song of Songs 2:14.

[38:21]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “against.”

[38:21]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “him”; the referent (Gog, cf. v. 18) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[39:9]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “burn and kindle the weapons.”

[39:9]  ⁶¹ tn Two different types of shields are specified in the Hebrew text.

[39:10]  ⁶² tn Heb “they will not carry.”

[39:10]  ⁶³ tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”

[39:11]  ⁶⁴ tn The name means “horde of Gog.”

[39:12]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “the house of Israel.”

[39:13]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “name.”

[39:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “men of perpetuity.”

[39:14]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “and bury the travelers and those who remain on the surface of the ground.” The reference to “travelers” seems odd and is omitted in the LXX. It is probably an accidental duplication (see v. 11).

[39:15]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “as the scouts scout.”

[39:15]  ⁷⁰ tn That is, the aforementioned bone.

[39:16]  ⁷¹ tn This name appears to be a feminine form of the word “horde,” used in the name Hamon-Gog.

[39:17]  ⁷² tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

[39:18]  ⁷³ sn See Rev 19:17-18.

[39:19]  ⁷⁴ sn Eating the fat and drinking blood were God’s exclusive rights in Israelite sacrifices (Lev 3:17).

[39:19]  ⁷⁵ tn Or “sacrifice” (so also in the rest of this verse).

[39:20]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “chariots.”

[16:14]  ⁷⁷ tn BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 1 states, “the inhabited earth, the world…ὅλη ἡ οἰκ. the whole inhabited earth…Mt 24:14; Ac 11:28; Rv 3:10; 16:14.”

[16:14]  ⁷⁸ 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.”

[16:15]  ⁷⁹ tn Grk “and keeps.” BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 2.c states “of holding on to someth. so as not to give it up or lose it…τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ Rv 16:15 (or else he will have to go naked).”

[16:15]  ⁸⁰ tn On the translation of ἀσχημοσύνη (aschmosunh) as “shameful condition” see L&N 25.202. The indefinite third person plural (“and they see”) has been translated as a passive here.

[16:15]  ⁸¹ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator. Many interpreters have seen this verse as so abrupt that it could not be an original part of the work, but the author has used such asides before (1:7; 14:13) and the suddenness here (on the eve of Armageddon) is completely parallel to Jesus’ warning in Mark 13:15-16 and parallels.

[16:16]  ⁸² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the resumption and conclusion of the remarks about the pouring out of the sixth bowl.

[16:16]  ⁸³ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the demonic spirits, v. 14) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁸⁴ tn Grk “gathered them”; the referent (the kings and [implied] their armies, v. 14) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:16]  ⁸⁵ tc There are many variations in the spelling of this name among the Greek mss, although ῾Αρμαγεδών (&armagedwn) has the best support. The usual English spelling is Armageddon, used in the translation.

[19:19]  ⁸⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[19:20]  ⁸⁷ 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]  ⁸⁸ 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]  ⁸⁹ tn Traditionally, “brimstone.”

[19:21]  ⁹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[19:21]  ⁹¹ 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).”