Isaiah 34:5

Isaiah 34:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
• New International Version (NIV)My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.

Context of Isaiah 34:5

3Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood. 4All the stars in the sky will dissolve. The sky will roll up like a scroll, and its stars will all wither as leaves wither on the vine, and foliage on the fig tree. When my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, it will then come down on Edom and on the people I have set apart for destruction. 6The Lord’s sword is covered with blood. It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7The wild oxen will be struck down with them, and young bulls with the mighty bulls. Their land will be soaked with blood, and their soil will be saturated with fat.

Isaiah 34:5 word by word

כִּֽי־רִוְּתָ֥ה בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם חַרְבִּ֑י הִנֵּה֙ עַל־אֱד֣וֹם תֵּרֵ֔ד וְעַל־עַ֥ם חֶרְמִ֖י לְמִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For my swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
• shall be bathedרָוָהrâvâh · to quenchH7301
• in heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• behold, it shall come downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• upon Idumeaאֱדוֹם'ĕdôm 'ĕdôm · EdomH123
• and upon the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• of my curseחֵ֫רֶםchêrem cherem · devoted thingH2764
• to judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justice: judgementH4941

Cross-references for Isaiah 34:5

• Deuteronomy 32:14curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat; you drank wine from the finest grapes.
• Psalms 17:13Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked.
• Jeremiah 46:10That day belongs to the Lord, the God of Armies, a day of vengeance to avenge himself against his adversaries. The sword will devour and be satisfied; it will drink its fill of their blood, because it will be a sacrifice to the Lord, the God of Armies, in the northern land by the Euphrates River.
• Jeremiah 47:6Oh, sword of the Lord! How long will you be restless? Go back to your sheath; be still; be silent!
• Ezekiel 21:3and say to it, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its sheath and cut off from you both the righteous and the wicked.
• Zephaniah 2:12You Cushites will also be slain by my sword.
• Revelation 1:16He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength.
• Isaiah 63:1Who is this coming from Edom in crimson-stained garments from Bozrah — this one who is splendid in his apparel, striding in his formidable might? It is I, proclaiming vindication, powerful to save.
• Psalms 137:7Remember, Lord, what the Edomites said that day at Jerusalem: “Destroy it! Destroy it down to its foundations!”
• Jeremiah 49:7About Edom, this is what the Lord of Armies says: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom rotted away?
• Ezekiel 25:12“‘This is what the Lord God says: Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,
• Amos 1:11The Lord says: I will not relent from punishing Edom for three crimes, even four, because he pursued his brother with the sword. He stifled his compassion, his anger tore at him continually, and he harbored his rage incessantly.
• Obadiah 1:1The vision of Obadiah. This is what the Lord God has said about Edom: We have heard a message from the Lord; an envoy has been sent among the nations: “Rise up, and let’s go to war against her.”
• Malachi 1:4Though Edom says, “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of Armies says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country and the people the Lord has cursed forever.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘The person who makes a carved idol or cast image, which is detestable to the Lord, the work of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret is cursed.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen!’
• Deuteronomy 29:18Be sure there is no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Be sure there is no root among you bearing poisonous and bitter fruit.

Commentaries on Isaiah 34:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5For my sword shall be bathed in heaven "For my sword is made bare in the heavens" - There seems to be some impropriety in this, according to the present reading: "My sword is made drunken, or is bathed in the heavens; "which forestalls, and expresses not in its proper place, what belongs to the next verse: for the sword of Jehovah was not to be bathed or glutted with blood in the heavens, but in Botsra and the land of Edom. In the heavens it was only…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5For my sword shall be bathed in heaven - A sword is an instrument of vengeance, and is often so used in the Scriptures, because it was often employed in capital punishments (see the note at Isaiah 27:1). This passage bas given much perplexity to commentators, on account of the apparent want of meaning of the expression that the sword would be bathed in heaven. Lowth reads it: For my sword is made bare in the heavens; Following in this the Chaldee which…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5Edom represents what all nations will experience, similar to how Moab was described in Isaiah 25.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. sword--(Jr 46:10). Or else, knife for sacrifice for God does not here appear as a warrior with His sword, but as one about to sacrifice victims doomed to slaughter [Vitringa]. (Eze 39:17). bathed--rather "intoxicated," namely, with anger (so De 32:42). "In heaven" implies the place where God's purpose of wrath is formed in antithesis to its "coming down" in the next clause. Idumea--originally extending from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea; afterwards they…Read the comment

Topics related to Isaiah 34:5

• War

In the dictionaries

• Edom, Idumaea or Idumea
• Idumea
• Edom, Edomite, Idumea
• Edom
• Idumaea
• Scroll
• Seek
• Accursed
• Armor; Arms
• Isaiah

Commentaries on Isaiah 34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings