when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB if I sharpen my glittering sword, my hand grasps it in judgment; I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will repay those who hate me.
- KJV If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
- NKJV If I whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me.
- NASB If I have sharpened My flashing sword, And My hand has taken hold of justice, I will return vengeance on My adversaries, And I will repay those who hate Me.
- NLT when I sharpen my flashing sword and begin to carry out justice, I will take revenge on my enemies and repay those who reject me.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God promises to sharpen His sword and take vengeance on His adversaries, repaying those who hate Him. It matters because it affirms that God will execute righteous judgment on the wicked.
Overview
The image of a sharpened sword wielded in judgment portrays God's determined justice against His foes. His repayment is just, directed at those who oppose Him. This certainty of divine judgment underscores the seriousness of opposing God, while assuring His people that evil will not finally triumph, a justice secured through Christ's victory.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 66:16For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.
- Isa 34:5–6When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens, then it will come down upon Edom, upon the people I have devoted to destruction.
- Exod 20:5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Isa 27:1In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.
- Ps 7:12If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
- Deut 5:9You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
- Jer 50:29Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
- Rom 1:30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.
- Ezek 21:20Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
- Ezek 21:9–15“Son of man, prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord says: ‘A sword, a sword, sharpened and polished—
- Isa 1:24Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies.
- Zeph 2:12“You too, O Cushites, will be slain by My sword.”
- Mark 1:2As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
- 2 Tim 3:4traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- Isa 59:18So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
- Isa 66:6Hear the uproar from the city; listen to the voice from the temple! It is the voice of the LORD, repaying His enemies what they deserve!
- Rom 8:7because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
- Deut 32:35Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 32:41 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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