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 dead will be left unburied, and the stench of rotting bodies will fill the land. The mountains will flow with their blood. 4The heavens above will melt away and disappear like a rolled-up scroll. The stars will fall from the sky like withered leaves from a grapevine, or shriveled figs from a fig tree. And when my sword has finished its work in the heavens, it will fall upon Edom, the nation I have marked for destruction. 6The sword of the Lord is drenched with blood and covered with fat— with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of rams prepared for sacrifice. Yes, the Lord will offer a sacrifice in the city of Bozrah. He will make a mighty slaughter in Edom. 7Even men as strong as wild oxen will die— the young men alongside the veterans. The land will be soaked with blood and the soil enriched 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 32:14He fed them yogurt from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs. He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats, together with the choicest wheat. You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.
• Psalms 17:13Arise, O Lord! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
• Jeremiah 46:10For this is the day of the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, a day of vengeance on his enemies. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, yes, until it is drunk with your blood! The Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will receive a sacrifice today in the north country beside the Euphrates River.
• Jeremiah 47:6“Now, O sword of the Lord, when will you be at rest again? Go back into your sheath; rest and be still.
• Ezekiel 21:3Tell her, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am your enemy, O Israel, and I am about to unsheath my sword to destroy your people—the righteous and the wicked alike.
• Zephaniah 2:12“You Ethiopians will also be slaughtered by my sword,” says the Lord.
• Revelation 1:16He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.
• Isaiah 63:1Who is this who comes from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, with his clothing stained red? Who is this in royal robes, marching in his great strength? “It is I, the Lord, announcing your salvation! It is I, the Lord, who has the power to save!”
• Psalms 137:7O Lord, remember what the Edomites did on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Destroy it!” they yelled. “Level it to the ground!”
• Jeremiah 49:7This message was given concerning Edom. This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Is there no wisdom in Teman? Is no one left to give wise counsel?
• Ezekiel 25:12“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: The people of Edom have sinned greatly by avenging themselves against the people of Judah.
• Amos 1:11This is what the Lord says: “The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords, showing them no mercy. In their rage, they slashed them continually and were unrelenting in their anger.
• Obadiah 1:1This is the vision that the Sovereign Lord revealed to Obadiah concerning the land of Edom. We have heard a message from the Lord that an ambassador was sent to the nations to say, “Get ready, everyone! Let’s assemble our armies and attack Edom!”
• Malachi 1:4Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.” But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
• Deuteronomy 29:18I am making this covenant with you so that no one among you—no man, woman, clan, or tribe—will turn away from the Lord our God to worship these gods of other nations, and so that no root among you bears bitter and poisonous 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