Yesaya 27:1
Konteks27:1 At that time 1 the Lord will punish
with his destructive, 2 great, and powerful sword
Leviathan the fast-moving 3 serpent,
Leviathan the squirming serpent;
he will kill the sea monster. 4
Yesaya 34:5-10
Konteks34:5 He says, 5 “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. 6
Look, it now descends on Edom, 7
on the people I will annihilate in judgment.”
34:6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood,
it is covered 8 with fat;
it drips 9 with the blood of young rams and goats
and is covered 10 with the fat of rams’ kidneys.
For the Lord is holding a sacrifice 11 in Bozrah, 12
a bloody 13 slaughter in the land of Edom.
34:7 Wild oxen will be slaughtered 14 along with them,
as well as strong bulls. 15
Their land is drenched with blood,
their soil is covered with fat.
34:8 For the Lord has planned a day of revenge, 16
a time when he will repay Edom for her hostility toward Zion. 17
34:9 Edom’s 18 streams will be turned into pitch
and her soil into brimstone;
her land will become burning pitch.
34:10 Night and day it will burn; 19
its smoke will ascend continually.
Generation after generation it will be a wasteland
and no one will ever pass through it again.
[27:1] 1 tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV).
[27:1] 2 tn Heb “hard, severe”; cf. NAB, NRSV “cruel”; KJV “sore”; NLT “terrible.”
[27:1] 3 tn Heb “fleeing” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV). Some translate “slippery” or “slithering.”
[27:1] 4 tn The description of Leviathan should be compared with the following excerpts from Ugaritic mythological texts: (1) “Was not the dragon (Ugaritic tnn, cognate with Hebrew תַנִּין [tannin, translated “sea monster” here]) vanquished and captured? I did destroy the wriggling (Ugaritic ’qltn, cognate to Hebrew עֲקַלָּתוֹן [’aqallaton, translated “squirming” here]) serpent, the tyrant with seven heads (cf. Ps 74:14).” (See CTA 3 iii 38-39.) (2) “for all that you smote Leviathan the slippery (Ugaritic brh, cognate to Hebrew בָּרִחַ [bariakh, translated “fast-moving” here]) serpent, [and] made an end of the wriggling serpent, the tyrant with seven heads” (See CTA 5 i 1-3.)
[27:1] sn In the Ugaritic mythological texts Leviathan is a sea creature that symbolizes the destructive water of the sea and in turn the forces of chaos that threaten the established order. Isaiah here applies imagery from Canaanite mythology to Yahweh’s eschatological victory over his enemies. Elsewhere in the OT, the battle with the sea motif is applied to Yahweh’s victories over the forces of chaos at creation and in history (cf. Pss 74:13-14; 77:16-20; 89:9-10; Isa 51:9-10). Yahweh’s subjugation of the chaos waters is related to His kingship (cf. Pss 29:3, 10; 93:3-4). Apocalyptic literature employs the imagery as well. The beasts of Dan 7 emerge from the sea, while Rev 13 speaks of a seven-headed beast coming from the sea.
[34:5] 5 tn The words “he says” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The Lord speaks at this point.
[34:5] 6 tn Heb “indeed [or “for”] my sword is drenched in the heavens.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa has תראה (“[my sword] appeared [in the heavens]”), but this is apparently an attempt to make sense out of a difficult metaphor. Cf. NIV “My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens.”
[34:5] sn In v. 4 the “host of the heaven” refers to the heavenly luminaries (stars and planets, see, among others, Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 17:16; 21:3, 5; 23:4-5; 2 Chr 33:3, 5) that populate the divine/heavenly assembly in mythological and prescientific Israelite thought (see Job 38:7; Isa 14:13). As in 24:21, they are viewed here as opposing God and being defeated in battle.
[34:5] 7 sn Edom is mentioned here as epitomizing the hostile nations that oppose God.
[34:6] 8 tn The verb is a rare Hotpaal passive form. See GKC 150 §54.h.
[34:6] 9 tn The words “it drips” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 10 tn The words “and is covered” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[34:6] 11 tn Heb “for there is a sacrifice to the Lord.”
[34:6] 12 sn The Lord’s judgment of Edom is compared to a bloody sacrificial scene.
[34:6] 13 tn Heb “great” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[34:7] 14 tn Heb “will go down”; NAB “shall be struck down.”
[34:7] 15 tn Heb “and bulls along with strong ones.” Perhaps this refers to the leaders.
[34:8] 16 tn Heb “for a day of vengeance [is] for the Lord.”
[34:8] 17 tn Heb “a year of repayment for the strife of Zion.” The translation assumes that רִיב (riv) refers to Edom’s hostility toward Zion. Another option is to understand רִיב (riv) as referring to the Lord’s taking up Zion’s cause. In this case one might translate, “a time when he will repay Edom and vindicate Zion.”
[34:9] 18 tn Heb “her”; the referent (Edom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
