Ulangan 32:41

32:41 I will sharpen my lightning-like sword,

and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; ¹ 

I will execute vengeance on my foes,

and repay those who hate me! ² 

Yesaya 31:8

31:8 Assyria will fall by a sword, but not one human-made; ³ 

a sword not made by humankind will destroy them. ⁴ 

They will run away from this sword ⁵ 

and their young men will be forced to do hard labor.

Yeremia 46:10

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all. ⁶ 

It is the day when he will pay back his enemies. ⁷ 

His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!

It will drink their blood until it is full! ⁸ 

For the Lord God who rules over all ⁹  will offer them up as a sacrifice

in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

[32:41]  ¹ tn Heb “judgment.” This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about.

[32:41]  ² tn The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; 139:20-21).

[31:8]  ³ tn Heb “Assyria will fall by a sword, not of a man.”

[31:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “and a sword not of humankind will devour him.”

[31:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will flee for himself from before a sword.”

[46:10]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh of armies.” See the study note at 2:19 for the translation and significance of this title for God.