Mazmur 137:7

137:7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did

on the day Jerusalem fell. ¹ 

They said, “Tear it down, tear it down, ² 

right to its very foundation!”

Yesaya 34:5

34:5 He says, ³  “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. ⁴ 

Look, it now descends on Edom, ⁵ 

on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”

Yesaya 63:1

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁶ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁷ 

Who ⁸  is this one wearing royal attire, ⁹ 

who marches confidently ¹⁰  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ¹¹ 

Yeremia 25:21

25:21 all the people of Edom, ¹²  Moab, ¹³  Ammon; ¹⁴ 

Yehezkiel 16:57

16:57 before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram ¹⁵  and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines – those all around you who despise you.

Yehezkiel 25:12

A Prophecy Against Edom

25:12 “This is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘Edom ¹⁶  has taken vengeance against the house of Judah; they have made themselves fully culpable ¹⁷  by taking vengeance ¹⁸  on them. ¹⁹ 

Amos 1:11

1:11 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Edom has committed three crimes ²⁰  –

make that four! ²¹  – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. ²² 

He chased his brother ²³  with a sword;

he wiped out his allies. ²⁴ 

In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; ²⁵ 

in his fury he relentlessly attacked them. ²⁶ 

[137:7]  ¹ tn Heb “remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem.”

[137:7]  ² tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”

[34:5]  ³ tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.

[34:5]  ⁴ 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]  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.

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

[63:1]  ⁶ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁸ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[25:21]  ¹² sn See further Jer 49:7-22 for the judgment against Edom. Edom, Moab, and Ammon were east of Judah.

[25:21]  ¹³ sn See further Jer 48:1-47 for the judgment against Moab.

[25:21]  ¹⁴ sn See further Jer 49:1-6 for the judgment against Ammon.

[16:57]  ¹⁵ tc So MT, LXX, and Vulgate; many Hebrew mss and Syriac read “Edom.”

[25:12]  ¹⁶ sn Edom was located south of Moab.

[25:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and they have become guilty, becoming guilty.” The infinitive absolute following the finite verb makes the statement emphatic and draws attention to the degree of guilt incurred by Edom due to its actions.

[25:12]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and they have taken vengeance.”

[25:12]  ¹⁹ sn Edom apparently in some way assisted in the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 b.c. (Ps 137:7; Lam 5:21, 23; Joel 3:19; Obadiah).

[1:11]  ²⁰ 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]  ²¹ tn Heb “Because of three violations of Edom, even because of four.”

[1:11]  sn On the three…four style that introduces each of the judgment oracles of chaps. 1-2 see the note on the word “four” in 1:3.

[1:11]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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]  ²⁶ 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).