For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- KJV For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
- NKJV For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
- NASB For the Lord has a day of vengeance, A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.
- NLT For it is the day of the Lord’s revenge, the year when Edom will be paid back for all it did to Israel.
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 has appointed a day of vengeance to vindicate Zion and right its wrongs.
Overview
The judgment of Edom is tied to God's care for his people: it is a day of vengeance and recompense for Zion's cause. This shows that divine judgment is not arbitrary but serves justice for the oppressed. It points to God as the righteous defender of his people, ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who brings both salvation and final justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Isa 63:4For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.
- Isa 61:2to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,
- Ps 94:1O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth.
- Jer 46:10For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
- Isa 35:4Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”
- Rev 19:2For His judgments are true and just. He has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the blood of His servants that was poured out by her hand.”
- 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.”
- Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, O heaven, O saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her.
- Rev 6:10–11And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?”
- 2 Th 1:6–10After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,
- Isa 26:21For behold, the LORD is coming out of His dwelling to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity. The earth will reveal her bloodshed and will no longer conceal her slain.
- Isa 49:26I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”
- Isa 59:17–18He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
- Rom 2:8–9But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
- Mic 6:1Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
- Luke 18:7Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help?
- Deut 32:41–43when 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.
- Rom 2:5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
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Christ at the center
Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).
How Isaiah 34:8 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.