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For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Isaiah 34:8 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB For Yahweh has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
  • BSB For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause 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 is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.
  • Isa 61:2To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
  • Ps 94:1O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
  • Jer 46:10For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
  • Isa 35:4Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
  • Rev 19:2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
  • Deut 32:35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
  • Rev 18:20Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
  • Rev 6:10–11And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
  • 2 Th 1:6–10Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
  • Isa 26:21For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
  • Isa 49:26And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
  • Isa 59:17–18For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
  • Rom 2:8–9But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
  • Mic 6:1Hear ye now what the LORD saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice.
  • Luke 18:7And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
  • Deut 32:41–43If 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.
  • Rom 2:5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 34:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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.