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.

Yeremia 46:10

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. ⁷ 

It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. ⁸ 

His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!

It will drink their blood until it is full! ⁹ 

For the Lord God who rules over all ¹⁰  will offer them up as a sacrifice

in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

[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).

[46:10]  ⁷ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.

[46:10]  ⁸ sn Most commentators think that this is a reference to the Lord exacting vengeance on Pharaoh Necho for killing Josiah, carrying Jehoahaz off into captivity, and exacting heavy tribute on Judah in 609 b.c. (2 Kgs 23:29, 33-35).

[46:10]  ⁹ tn Or more paraphrastically, “he will kill them/ until he has exacted full vengeance”; Heb “The sword will eat and be sated; it will drink its fill of their blood.”

[46:10]  sn This passage is, of course, highly figurative. The Lord does not have a literal “sword,” but he uses agents of destruction like the Assyrian armies (called his “rod” in Isa 10:5-6) and the Babylonian armies (called his war club in Jer 51:20) to wreak vengeance on his foes. Likewise, swords do not “eat” or “drink.” What is meant here is that God will use this battle against the Egyptians to kill off many Egyptians until his vengeance is fully satisfied.

[46:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.