Yesaya 34:6

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

it is covered ¹  with fat;

it drips ²  with the blood of young rams and goats

and is covered ³  with the fat of rams’ kidneys.

For the Lord is holding a sacrifice ⁴  in Bozrah, ⁵ 

a bloody ⁶  slaughter in the land of Edom.

Yesaya 63:1

The Victorious Divine Warrior

63:1 Who is this who comes from Edom, ⁷ 

dressed in bright red, coming from Bozrah? ⁸ 

Who ⁹  is this one wearing royal attire, ¹⁰ 

who marches confidently ¹¹  because of his great strength?

“It is I, the one who announces vindication,

and who is able to deliver!” ¹² 

Yeremia 49:13

49:13 For I solemnly swear,” ¹³  says the Lord, “that Bozrah ¹⁴  will become a pile of ruins. It will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example to be used in curses. ¹⁵  All the towns around it will lie in ruins forever.”

Yeremia 49:22

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,

a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.

At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful

as a woman in labor.” ¹⁶ 

[34:6]  ¹ tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.

[34:6]  ² tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ³ tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[34:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”

[34:6]  ⁵ sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.

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

[63:1]  ⁷ sn Edom is here an archetype for the Lord’s enemies. See 34:5.

[63:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “[in] bright red garments, from Bozrah.”

[63:1]  ⁹ tn The interrogative particle is understood by ellipsis; note the first line of the verse.

[63:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “honored in his clothing”; KJV, ASV “glorious in his apparel.”

[63:1]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “I, [the one] speaking in vindication [or “righteousness”], great to deliver.”

[49:13]  ¹³ tn Heb “I swear by myself.” See 22:5 and the study note there.

[49:13]  ¹⁴ sn Bozrah appears to have been the chief city in Edom, its capital city (see its parallelism with Edom in Isa 34:6; 63:1; Jer 49:22). The reference to “its towns” (translated here “all the towns around it”) could then be a reference to all the towns in Edom. It was located about twenty-five miles southeast of the southern end of the Dead Sea apparently in the district of Teman (see the parallelism in Amos 1:12).

[49:13]  ¹⁵ tn See the study note on 24:9 for the rendering of this term.

[49:22]  ¹⁶ sn Compare Jer 48:40-41 for a similar prophecy about Moab. The parallelism here suggests that Bozrah, like Teman in v. 20, is a poetic equivalent for Edom.