Bible Strands
Isaiah 34:6
The sword of the LORD is bathed in 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Isaiah delivers this oracle as a declaration of the LORD’s impending judgment against Edom and the surrounding nations. The passage occurs at the moment the LORD’s sword descends to execute a devoted destruction upon the land.
The words — חֶרֶב (Che.rev) denotes the literal sword, while הֻדַּשְׁנָה (hu.Dash.nah) literally means it has fattened itself, describing the blade’s saturation. מָלְאָה (mal.'Ah) reinforces this state by translating as it is full.
The thread — The imagery of a blood-soaked sword descending on Edom recurs in Isaiah 63:1, which depicts a figure arriving from Edom with garments stained crimson. The specific mention of Bozrah as a site of judgment also appears in Jeremiah 49:13, where the LORD swears it will become a desolation and ruin.
Why it lands — The text states that the LORD’s sword is saturated with the blood and fat of lambs, goats, and rams, declaring a deliberate sacrifice and slaughter in Edom. It requires the reader to recognize the passage as a literal account of divine retribution rather than a metaphorical warning.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the Lord hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 63:1 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah with crimson-stained garments? Who is this robed in splendor, marching in the greatness of His strength? “It is I, proclaiming vindication, mighty to save.”
- Jeremiah 49:13 For by Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a desolation, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse, and all her cities will be in ruins forever.”
- Deuteronomy 32:14 with curds from the herd and milk from the flock, with the fat of lambs, with rams from Bashan, and goats, with the choicest grains of wheat. From the juice of the finest grapes you drank the wine.
- Isaiah 34:5 When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
- Isaiah 63:3 “I have trodden the winepress alone, and no one from the nations was with Me. I trampled them in My anger and trod them down in My fury; their blood spattered My garments, and all My clothes were stained.
- Jeremiah 50:27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
- Jeremiah 51:40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
- Ezekiel 21:4 Because I will cut off both the righteous and the wicked, My sword will be unsheathed against everyone from south to north.
- Ezekiel 39:17 And as for you, son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says: Call out to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
- Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD, for the Day of the LORD is near. Indeed, the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has consecrated His guests.