Numbers 20:18

20:18 But Edom said to him, “You will not pass through me, ¹  or I will come out against ²  you with the sword.”

Genesis 27:41

27:41 So Esau hated ³  Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. ⁴  Esau said privately, ⁵  “The time ⁶  of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill ⁷  my brother Jacob!”

Genesis 32:6

32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.”

Jude 1:17

Exhortation to the Faithful

1:17 But you, dear friends – recall the predictions ⁸  foretold by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ 

Jude 1:20

1:20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith, by praying in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁰ 

Psalms 120:7

120:7 I am committed to peace, ¹¹ 

but when I speak, they want to make war. ¹² 

Ezekiel 35:5-11

35:5 “‘You have shown unrelenting hostility and poured the people of Israel onto the blades of a sword ¹³  at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment. 35:6 Therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will subject you to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 35:7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate ruin; ¹⁴  I will cut off ¹⁵  from it the one who passes through or returns. 35:8 I will fill its mountains with its dead; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines, those killed by the sword will fall. 35:9 I will turn you into a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

35:10 “‘You said, “These two nations, these two lands ¹⁶  will be mine, and we will possess them,” ¹⁷  – although the Lord was there – 35:11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you.

Amos 1:11

1:11 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Edom has committed three crimes ¹⁸  –

make that four! ¹⁹  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ²⁰ 

He chased his brother ²¹  with a sword;

he wiped out his allies. ²² 

In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; ²³ 

in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. ²⁴ 

[20:18]  ¹ tn The imperfect tense here has the nuance of prohibition.

[20:18]  ² tn Heb “to meet.”

[27:41]  ³ tn Or “bore a grudge against” (cf. NAB, NASB, NIV). The Hebrew verb שָׂטַם (satam) describes persistent hatred.

[27:41]  ⁴ tn Heb “because of the blessing which his father blessed him.”

[27:41]  ⁵ tn Heb “said in his heart.” The expression may mean “said to himself.” Even if this is the case, v. 42 makes it clear that he must have shared his intentions with someone, because the news reached Rebekah.

[27:41]  ⁶ tn Heb “days.”

[27:41]  ⁷ tn The cohortative here expresses Esau’s determined resolve to kill Jacob.

[1:17]  ⁸ tn Grk “words.” In conjunction with προεῖπον (proeipon), however, the meaning of the construction is that the apostles uttered prophecies.

[1:17]  ⁹ sn This verse parallels 2 Pet 3:2 both conceptually and in much of the verbiage. There is one important difference, however: In 2 Pet 3:2 the prophets and apostles speak; here, just the apostles speak. This makes good sense if Jude is using 2 Peter as his main source and is urging his readers to go back to the authoritative writings, both OT and now especially NT.

[1:20]  ¹⁰ tn The participles in v. 20 have been variously interpreted. Some treat them imperativally or as attendant circumstance to the imperative in v. 21 (“maintain”): “build yourselves up…pray.” But they do not follow the normal contours of either the imperatival or attendant circumstance participles, rendering this unlikely. A better option is to treat them as the means by which the readers are to maintain themselves in the love of God. This both makes eminently good sense and fits the structural patterns of instrumental participles elsewhere.

[120:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I, peace.”

[120:7]  ¹² tn Heb “they [are] for war.”

[35:5]  ¹³ tn Or “gave over…to the power of the sword.” This phrase also occurs in Jer 18:21 and Ps 63:10.

[35:7]  ¹⁴ tc The translation reads with some manuscripts לְשִׁמְמָה וּמְשַׁמָּה (lÿshimmah umÿshammah, “desolate ruin”) as in verse 3 and often in Ezekiel. The majority reading reverses the first mem (מ) with the shin (שׁ) resulting in the repetition of the word desolate: לְשִׁמְמָה וּשְׁמָמָה (lÿshimmah ushÿmamah).

[35:7]  ¹⁵ tn Or “kill.”

[35:10]  ¹⁶ sn The reference is to Israel and Judah.

[35:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “it.”

[1:11]  ¹⁸ tn Traditionally, “transgressions” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV) or “sins” (NIV). For an explanation of the atrocities outlined in this oracle as treaty violations of God’s mandate to Noah in Gen 9:5-7, see the note on the word “violations” in 1:3.

[1:11]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Edom, even because of four.”

[1:11]  ²⁰ tn Heb “I will not bring it [or “him”] back.” The translation understands the pronominal object to refer to the decree of judgment that follows; the referent (the decree) has been specified in the translation for clarity. For another option see the note on the word “judgment” in 1:3.

[1:11]  ²¹ sn It is likely that “brother” refers here to a treaty partner (see the note on the word “brotherhood” in 1:9). However, it is possible, if Israel is in view, that Edom’s ancient blood relationship to God’s people is alluded to here. Cf. NCV, NLT “their relatives, the Israelites.”

[1:11]  ²² tn Or “He stifled his compassion.” The Hebrew term רָחֲמָיו (rakhamayv) is better understood here (parallel to “brother/treaty partner”) as a reference to “allies” which Edom betrayed. An Aramaic cognate is attested (see DNWSI 2:1069-70). See M. Fishbane, “The Treaty Background of Amos 1:11 and Related Matters,” JBL 89 (1970): 313-18; idem, “Critical Note: Additional Remarks on rh£myw (Amos 1:11),” JBL 91 (1972): 391-93; and M. Barré, “Amos 1:11 reconsidered,” CBQ 47 (1985) 420-27. Some argue that the clause is best translated as “and destroyed his womenfolk.” רַחַם (rakham) means “womb”; the plural here would be a metonymy for “women” and could establish a parallel with the atrocity of 1:13. See S. M. Paul, Amos (Hermeneia), 64-65.

[1:11]  ²³ tn Heb “his anger tore continually.” The Hebrew verb טָרַף (taraf, “tear apart”) is often used of an animal tearing apart its prey. The word picture here is that of a vicious predator’s feeding frenzy.

[1:11]  ²⁴ tn Traditionally, “he kept his fury continually.” The Hebrew term שְׁמָרָה (shÿmarah) could be taken as a Qal perfect 3rd person masculine singular with 3rd person feminine singular suffix (with mappiq omitted), “he kept it” (NASB, NKJV, NRSV). It is also possible in light of the parallelism that שָׁמַר (shamar) is a rare homonym cognate to an Akkadian verb meaning “to rage; to be furious.” Repointing the verb as שָׁמְרָה (shamÿrah, third person feminine singular), one could translate literally, “his fury raged continually” (NIV, NJPS).