Discovery BoxIsaiah 34:5-7 
Context34:5 He says, 1 “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. 2
Look, it now descends on Edom, 3
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 4 with fat;
it drips 5 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 6 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 7 in Bozrah, 8
a bloody 9 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 10 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 11
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
1 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
2 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa 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.”
sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
3 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
4 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
5 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
6 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
7 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
8 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
9 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
10 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
11 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
