Isaiah 34:3

Translation
King James Version
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
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KJV (with Strong's)
Their slain H2491 also shall be cast out H7993, and their stink H889 shall come up H5927 out of their carcases H6297, and the mountains H2022 shall be melted H4549 with their blood H1818.
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Complete Jewish Bible
Their slain will be thrown out, the stench will rise from their corpses, the mountains will flow with their blood.
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Berean Standard Bible
Their slain will be left unburied, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will flow with their blood.
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American Standard Version
Their slain also shall be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies shall come up; and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
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World English Bible Messianic
Their slain will also be cast out, and the stench of their dead bodies will come up; and the mountains will melt in their blood.
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Geneva Bible (1599)
And their slaine shalbe cast out, and their stincke shall come vp out of their bodies, and the mountaines shalbe melted with their blood.
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Young's Literal Translation
And their wounded are cast out, And their carcases cause their stench to ascend, And melted have been mountains from their blood.
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See also
Joel 2:20Ezekiel 39:4Isaiah 34:7Ezekiel 38:22Ezekiel 32:5Ezekiel 32:62 Kings 9:35
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God’s Coming Judgement
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In the KJVVerse 18,307 of 31,102

Study This Verse

SUMMARY

Isaiah 34:3 presents a stark and terrifying prophetic vision of divine judgment, vividly depicting the catastrophic aftermath for those who stand in opposition to God. This verse, situated within a broader oracle of universal desolation, portrays a scene of overwhelming conflict: unburied corpses, a pervasive and repulsive stench of decay, and the very landscape fundamentally transformed and saturated by an immense deluge of bloodshed. It powerfully underscores the totality and severity of God's righteous wrath, revealing a judgment so absolute that it denies the dignity of burial and mourning, and profoundly alters the natural world itself.

CONTEXT

  • Literary Context: Isaiah 34 constitutes a distinct prophetic unit within the book, often referred to as "The Little Apocalypse" due to its focus on universal judgment. It serves as a dramatic contrast to the preceding chapters, which often address specific nations, and the subsequent chapters (Isaiah 35 onwards), which pivot to glorious prophecies of restoration and redemption. Chapter 34, while an oracle of global judgment, specifically highlights Edom as a primary target of God's wrath, likely symbolizing all nations hostile to God's covenant people due to its historical and persistent animosity towards Israel (e.g., the violence described in Obadiah 1:10-14). This verse, with its graphic imagery of death and decay, sets the grim tone for the complete desolation described throughout the chapter, emphasizing the finality and horror of divine retribution before the radiant vision of Zion's redemption unfolds in Isaiah 35.
  • Historical & Cultural Context: The imagery of unburied bodies and the resulting stench carried profound implications of dishonor and curse in the ancient Near East. Proper burial was not merely a custom but a crucial act for ensuring dignity, respecting the deceased, and maintaining social order. Its denial signified utter defeat, abandonment, and divine rejection, often viewed as the ultimate humiliation for an enemy (as lamented in Jeremiah 8:2). The concept of the "Day of the Lord," a recurring prophetic motif, refers to a decisive intervention by God in history to execute judgment on His enemies and vindicate His people. This concept encompassed both specific historical events (like the fall of a nation) and eschatological fulfillment (the ultimate end-time judgment). The specific focus on Edom, a nation descended from Esau, underscores a long-standing familial and political animosity with Israel, making it a potent symbol for all nations that defy God's covenant and His people.
  • Key Themes: This verse powerfully contributes to several foundational themes within Isaiah and broader biblical prophecy. Foremost is the theme of Divine Judgment and Wrath, portraying God not as a passive observer but as an active, righteous, and sovereign judge who will decisively punish wickedness and rebellion against His authority. The graphic imagery also emphasizes Utter Desolation, where the consequences of sin are so severe that they lead to complete societal collapse and environmental transformation, leaving no survivors to bury the dead or maintain order. Furthermore, it speaks to God's Sovereignty and Justice, affirming that ultimately, all nations are accountable to Him, and His justice will prevail, even if it means widespread destruction for those who defy Him. This theme resonates deeply with the depiction of Christ as the righteous judge in Revelation 19:11-16. The passage also subtly introduces the theme of Contrast, setting the stage for the glorious restoration promised to God's people in the chapters that follow, highlighting the stark difference between the fate of the wicked and the blessed.

EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

Key Word Analysis

  • Slain (Hebrew, châlâl', H2491): Meaning "pierced (especially to death); figuratively, polluted." In Isaiah 34:3, this word specifically refers to those who have met a violent, fatal end, emphasizing that the bodies are not merely deceased but are the result of a brutal slaughter. This highlights a complete military defeat and the utter vulnerability of the vanquished, signifying a judgment that is both violent and absolute.
  • Stink (Hebrew, bᵉʼôsh', H889): Meaning "a stench." Its use here vividly conveys the repulsive and pervasive odor of decaying corpses. This appeals directly to the sense of smell, underscoring the horrific reality of the unburied dead and the complete absence of human dignity or care in the aftermath of God's judgment. It signifies the ultimate dishonor, pervasive defilement, and complete abandonment of the fallen.
  • Melted (Hebrew, mâçaç', H4549): A primitive root meaning "to liquefy; figuratively, to waste (with disease), to faint (with fatigue, fear or grief)." When applied to mountains "melting with their blood," it functions as a powerful hyperbole. It conveys an unimaginable volume of bloodshed, suggesting a transformation of the very landscape. This implies that the extent of the slaughter is so vast and overwhelming that it metaphorically dissolves the solid earth, emphasizing the cataclysmic scale and intensity of God's wrath.

Verse Breakdown

  • "Their slain also shall be cast out": This initial clause immediately establishes a scene of profound horror and dishonor. "Cast out" implies that the bodies of those violently killed are left unburied, exposed to the elements, and treated with utter contempt. In ancient cultures, the denial of proper burial was a severe curse, signifying complete defeat, abandonment, and a lack of respect for the dead. This detail underscores the finality and severity of God's judgment upon His enemies, leaving them without dignity even in death.
  • "and their stink shall come up out of their carcases": This graphic detail intensifies the horror, appealing directly to the sense of smell. The pervasive and unavoidable stench of decaying bodies highlights the vast number of the dead and the complete absence of anyone to perform burial rites or clean up the carnage. It paints a vivid picture of widespread defilement and utter desolation, making the judgment inescapable and universally repulsive, a testament to the overwhelming nature of the destruction.
  • "and the mountains shall be melted with their blood": This is a profoundly powerful and hyperbolic image. "Mountains" typically symbolize enduring, unyielding features of the earth, representing stability and permanence. The idea of them "melting" with blood conveys an unimaginable quantity of bloodshed, so vast and overwhelming that it metaphorically alters the very landscape. This signifies the overwhelming, transformative, and cataclysmic force of God's vengeance, indicating a judgment of unparalleled scale and intensity that impacts even the natural world.

Literary Devices

Isaiah 34:3 masterfully employs several potent literary devices to convey its message of overwhelming judgment. Imagery is paramount, appealing directly to both visual and olfactory senses. The description of "slain... cast out" and the "stink... out of their carcases" creates a repulsive visual and olfactory picture of widespread death and decay, emphasizing the profound dishonor and abandonment of the vanquished. The phrase "mountains shall be melted with their blood" is a striking example of Hyperbole, an exaggeration used for dramatic emphasis. Mountains, enduring symbols of stability and permanence, are depicted as dissolving under the sheer volume of blood, vividly communicating the unprecedented and cataclysmic scale of the slaughter. This hyperbole also functions as Symbolism, where the melting mountains symbolize the profound and irreversible alteration of the natural order and the complete devastation wrought by divine judgment. The cumulative effect of these devices is to impress upon the reader the absolute, terrifying, and inescapable nature of God's righteous wrath.

THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

Isaiah 34:3 serves as a stark and sobering reminder of God's absolute holiness and His unwavering commitment to justice. It reveals that the Lord is not indifferent to the wickedness and rebellion of nations but will, in His appointed time, execute righteous judgment upon all who oppose Him and oppress His people. This graphic depiction of wrath underscores the profound seriousness of sin and rebellion, emphasizing that divine judgment is not a mere theological concept but a terrifying reality with tangible, devastating consequences. For believers, it provides a profound assurance that God will ultimately vindicate His righteousness and His people, demonstrating His faithfulness to His covenant promises. For the unrepentant, it stands as a solemn warning of the inevitable and catastrophic outcome of defying the Almighty, urging repentance and submission to His sovereign rule.

  • Revelation 14:20: Describes a scene of immense bloodshed outside the city, where blood flows "up to the horses' bridles," echoing the overwhelming scale of judgment depicted in Isaiah.
  • Joel 3:13: Uses vivid agricultural imagery of a "winepress" full to bursting, signifying the readiness for God's furious judgment upon the nations, a prelude to the outpouring of wrath.
  • Psalm 79:3: Laments the unburied bodies of God's servants, highlighting the profound dishonor and devastation associated with such a fate, a curse that Isaiah 34:3 portrays as inflicted upon God's enemies.

REFLECTION AND APPLICATION

The vivid and unsettling imagery of Isaiah 34:3 compels us to confront the profound seriousness of God's holiness and His unwavering justice. While the scene is one of terrifying destruction, it serves as a crucial theological anchor, reminding us that God is not a cosmic bystander but the sovereign Lord who will ultimately set all things right. This passage should cultivate within us a deep reverence for His immense power and a sober understanding of the inevitable consequences of rebellion against His perfect will. It calls us to examine our own lives, ensuring that our hearts and actions are aligned with His righteous purposes, living in humility, obedience, and dependence rather than presumptuous defiance. For those who trust in Him, this graphic portrayal of judgment against His enemies offers a profound assurance that He is indeed just and will ultimately bring about His kingdom, where righteousness dwells. It encourages us to live with a sense of urgency, sharing the good news of His mercy and grace, knowing that a day of accounting awaits all, and that only in Christ can true and lasting peace be found.

Questions for Reflection

  • How does the graphic imagery of Isaiah 34:3 challenge or deepen your understanding of God's justice and holiness?
  • What is the spiritual significance of bodies being "cast out" and left unburied in ancient thought, and how does this apply to the judgment described here?
  • In what ways should this passage motivate believers to live a life of greater reverence, obedience, and evangelistic urgency for God's kingdom?

FAQ

What is the "Day of the Lord" that this verse refers to?

Answer: The "Day of the Lord" is a prominent prophetic theme throughout the Old Testament, referring to a specific time when God intervenes decisively in human history to execute His judgment upon the wicked and to bring about the salvation and vindication of His people. It is often depicted as a time of darkness, wrath, and destruction for those who oppose God, but also a time of light and deliverance for those who are faithful. While it can refer to specific historical events (like the fall of Babylon or Edom), it also carries an eschatological dimension, pointing to a final, ultimate judgment at the end of time, as seen in passages like Zephaniah 1:14-18. Isaiah 34:3 vividly portrays the devastating physical consequences of this divine intervention, emphasizing its comprehensive and inescapable nature.

Is this prophecy literal or symbolic, especially the "mountains melting with blood"?

Answer: The prophecy in Isaiah 34:3 employs highly vivid and hyperbolic language, particularly the image of "mountains shall be melted with their blood." While the judgment itself is certainly real and its consequences devastating, the "melting mountains" is a hyperbolic expression designed to convey the immense, unimaginable scale of bloodshed and destruction. It's a poetic way of emphasizing that the slaughter will be so vast that it will fundamentally alter the very landscape, indicating a cataclysmic event of unparalleled magnitude. The prophet uses such powerful imagery to impress upon the reader the terrifying totality of God's wrath, rather than to suggest a literal geological transformation by blood. This kind of symbolic or hyperbolic language is common in prophetic literature to convey profound spiritual truths about divine power, judgment, and the ultimate triumph of God's justice.

CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT

While Isaiah 34:3 graphically depicts God's righteous judgment against His enemies, its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the one through whom all judgment will ultimately be executed, as declared by the Father who "has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). The horrific scene of unburied bodies and pervasive stench speaks to the wages of sin, which is death and utter separation from God, a reality that Christ bore in full on the cross. His shed blood, unlike the blood of the slain in Isaiah, is not a cause of judgment but the divine means of atonement, cleansing, and reconciliation for all who believe, for "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins" (Hebrews 9:22). For those who trust in Him, the wrath described in Isaiah 34:3 has been averted, as Christ absorbed the full fury of God's judgment on our behalf, saving us from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9). Thus, this passage, while terrifying in its immediate context, ultimately points to the necessity of a Savior who delivers us from the coming wrath, and to the final establishment of God's righteous kingdom where such desolation will be no more, for God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death or mourning (Revelation 21:4).

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Commentary on Isaiah 34 verses 1–8

I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points

Here we have a prophecy, as elsewhere we have a history, of the wars of the Lord, which we are sure are all both righteous and successful. This world, as it is his creature, he does good to; but as it is in the interest of Satan, who is called the god of this world, he fights against it.

I. Here is the trumpet sounded and the war proclaimed, Isa 34:1. All nations must hear and hearken, not only because what God is about to do is well worthy their remark (as Isa 33:13), but because they are all concerned in it; it is with them that God has a quarrel; it is against them that God is coming forth in wrath. Let them all take notice that the great God is angry with them; his indignation is upon all nations, and therefore let all nations come near to hear. The trumpet is blown in the city (Amo 3:6), and the watchmen on the walls cry, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet, Jer 6:17. Let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof, for it is the Lord's (Psa 24:1) and ought to hearken to its Maker and Master. The world must hear, and all things that come forth of it, the children of men, that are of the earth earthy, come out of it, and must return to it; or the inanimate products of the earth are called to, as more likely to hearken than sinners, whose hearts are hardened against the calls of God. Hear, O you mountains! the Lord's controversy, Mic 6:2. It is so just a controversy that all the world may be safely appealed to concerning the equity of it.

II. Here is the manifesto published, setting forth,

1.Whom he makes war against (Isa 34:2): The indignation of the Lord is upon all nations; they are all in confederacy against God and religion, all in the interests of the devil, and therefore he is angry with them all, even with all the nations that forget him. He has long suffered all nations to walk in their own ways (Act 14:16), but now he will no longer keep silence. As they have all had the benefit of his patience, so they must all expect now to feel his resentments. His fury is in a special manner upon all their armies, (1.) Because with them they have done mischief to the people of God; those are they that have made bloody work with them, and therefore they must be sure to have blood given them to drink. (2.) Because with them they hope to make their part good against the justice and power of God they trust to them as their defence, and therefore on them, in the first place, God's fury will come. Armies before God's fury are but as dry stubble before a consuming fire, though ever so numerous and courageous.

2.Whom he makes war for, and what are the grounds and reasons of the war (Isa 34:8): It is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and he it is to whom vengeance belongs, and who is never unrighteous in taking vengeance, Rom 3:5. As there is a day of the Lord's patience, so there will be a day of his vengeance; for, though he bear long, he will not bear always. It is the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. Zion is the holy city, the city of our solemnities, a type and figure of the church of God in the world. Zion has a just quarrel with her neighbours for the wrongs they have done her, for all their treacherous and barbarous usage of her, profaning her holy things, laying waste her palaces, and slaying her sons. She has left it to God to plead her cause, and he will do so when the time, even the set time, to favour Zion shall have come; then he will recompense to her persecutors and oppressors all the mischiefs they have done her. The controversy will be decided, that Zion has been wronged, and therein Zion's God has been himself abused. Judgment will be given upon this decision, and execution done. Note, There is a time prefixed in the divine counsels for the deliverance of the church and the destruction of her enemies, a year of the redeemed, which will come, a year of recompences for the controversy of Zion; and we must patiently wait till then, and judge nothing before the time.

III. Here are the operations of the war, and the methods of it, settled, with an infallible assurance of success. 1. The sword of the Lord is bathed in heaven; this is all the preparation here made for the war, Isa 34:5. It may probably allude to some custom they had then of bathing their swords in some liquor or other, to harden them or brighten them; it is the same with the furbishing of it, that it may glitter, Eze 21:9-11. God's sword is bathed in heaven, in his counsel and decree, in his justice and power, and then there is not standing before it. 2. It shall come down. What he has determined shall without fail be put in execution. It shall come down from heaven, and the higher the place is, whence it comes, the heavier will it fall. It will come down upon Idumea, the people of God's curse, the people that lie under his curse and are by it doomed to destruction. Miserable, for ever miserable, are those that have by their sins made themselves the people of God's curse; for the sword of the Lord will infallibly attend the curse of the Lord and execute the sentences of it; and those whom he curses are cursed indeed. It shall come down to judgment, to execute judgment upon sinners. Note, God's sword of war is always a sword of justice. It is observed of him out of whose mouth goeth the sharp sword that in righteousness he doth judge and make war, Rev 19:11, Rev 19:15. 3. The nations and their armies shall be given up to the sword (Isa 34:2): God has delivered them to the slaughter, and then they cannot deliver themselves, nor can all the friends they have deliver them from it. Those only are slain whom God delivers to the slaughter, for the keys of death are in his hand; and, in delivering them to the slaughter, he has utterly destroyed them; their destruction is as sure, when God has doomed them to it, as if they were destroyed already, utterly destroyed. God has, in effect, delivered all the cruel enemies of his church to the slaughter by that word (Rev 13:10), He that kills with the sword must be killed by the sword, for the Lord is righteous. 4. Pursuant to the sentence, a terrible slaughter shall be made among them (Isa 34:6): The sword of the Lord, when it comes down with commission, does vast execution; it is filled, satiated, surfeited, with blood, the blood of the slain, and made fat with their fatness. When the day of God's abused mercy and patience is over the sword of his justice gives no quarter, spares none. Men have by sin lost the honour of the human nature and made themselves like the beasts that perish; they are therefore justly denied the compassion and respect that are owing to the human nature and killed as beasts, and no more is made of slaying an army of men than of butchering a flock of lambs or goats and feeding on the fat of the kidneys of rams. Nay, the sword of the Lord shall not only dispatch the lambs and goats, the infantry of their armies, the poor common soldiers, but (Isa 34:7) the unicorns too shall be made to come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls, though they are ever so proud, and strong, and fierce (the great men, and the mighty men, and the chief captains Rev 6:15), the sword of the Lord will make as easy a prey of as of the lambs and the goats. The greatest of men are nothing before the wrath of the great God. See what bloody work will be made: The land shall be soaked with blood, as with the rain that comes often upon it and in great abundance; and their dust, their dry and barren land, shall be made fat with the fatness of men slain in their full strength, as with manure. Nay even the mountains, which are hard and rocky, shall be melted with their blood, Isa 34:3. These expressions are hyperbolical (as St. John's vision of blood to the horse-bridles, Rev 14:20), and are made use of because they sound very dreadful to sense (it makes us even shiver to think of such abundance of human gore), and are therefore proper to express the terror of God's wrath, which is dreadful beyond conception and expression. See what work sin and wrath make even in this world, and think how much more terrible the wrath to come is, which will bring down the unicorns themselves to the bars of the pit. 5. This great slaughter will be a great sacrifice to the justice of God (Isa 34:6): The Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah; there it is that the great Redeemer has his garments dyed with blood, Isa 63:1. Sacrifices were intended for the honour of God, to make it appear that he hates sin and demands satisfaction for it, and that nothing but blood will make atonement; and for these ends the slaughter is made, that in it the wrath of God may be revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, especially their ungodly unrighteous enmity to his people, which was the sin that the Edomites were notoriously guilty of. In great sacrifices abundance of beasts were killed, hecatombs offered, and their blood poured out before the altar; and so will it be in this day of the Lord's vengeance. And thus would the whole earth have been soaked with the blood of sinners if Jesus Christ, the great propitiation, had not shed his blood for us; but those who reject him, and will not make a covenant with God by that sacrifice, will themselves fall as victims to divine wrath. Damned sinners are everlasting sacrifices, Mar 9:48, Mar 9:49. Those that sacrifice not (which is the character of the ungodly, Ecc 9:2) must be sacrificed. 6. These slain shall be detestable to mankind, and shall be as much their loathing as ever they were their terror (Isa 34:3): They shall be cast out, and none shall pay them the respect of a decent burial; but their stink shall come up out of their carcases, that all people by the odious smell, as well as by the ghastly sight, may be made to conceive an indignation against sin and a dread of the wrath of God. They lie unburied, that they may remain monuments of divine justice. 7. The effect and consequence of this slaughter shall be universal confusion and desolation, as if the whole frame of nature were dissolved and melted down (Isa 34:4): All the host of heaven shall pine and waste away (so the word is); the sun shall be darkened, and the moon look black, or be turned into blood; the heavens themselves shall be rolled together as a scroll or parchment when we have done with it, and lay it by, or as when it is shrivelled up by the heat of the fire. The stars shall fall as the leaves in autumn; all the beauty, joy, and comfort, of the vanquished nation shall be lost and done away, magistracy and government shall be abolished, and all dominion and rule, but that of the sword of war, shall fall. Conquerors, in those times, affected to lay waste the countries they conquered; and such a complete desolation is here described by such figurative expressions as will yet have a literal and full accomplishment in the dissolution of all things at the end of time, of which last day of judgment the judgments which God does now sometimes remarkably execute on sinful nations are figures, earnests, and forerunners; and by these we should be awakened to think of that, for which reason these expressions are used here and Rev 6:12, Rev 6:13. But they are used without a metaphor, Pe2 3:10, where we are told that the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the earth shall be burnt up.

Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–8. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Isaiah
(Chapter 34, Verse 1, etc.) Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth and all that fills it hear, the world and all that springs from it. For the Lord's indignation is against all the nations, and His fury is against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them and given them over to slaughter. Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will be drenched with their blood. And all the host of heaven will rot away; the skies will roll up like a scroll, and all their host will wither away like a withered leaf from the vine, like foliage from the fig tree. For my sword is drenched in the heavens; indeed, it is drunk with blood. Behold, he will come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my slaughter, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is made thick with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fatness of the kidneys of rams: for there is a victim of the Lord in Bosra, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls: and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their soil made fat with fatness. After the overthrow of Jerusalem, and the shipwreck of the once very firm ship, and the plunder of all its furnishings, it is said concerning the destruction of all nations, and concerning the consummation of the world, which is in the future day of judgment. Whereby all peoples and nations of the earth and its fullness, the world and all its offspring, both those inhabited places and those uninhabitable due to excessive cold and heat, are commanded to hear, and to know with every trembling of the mind what is to come. For the wrath of the Lord is not only against one nation, the Jews, but also against the Assyrians and Chaldeans, the Egyptians, Moabites, and Ammonites, and the Philistines; but also against all nations, and against the entire host, or as the Septuagint translated, their number. She is described as a venture, which kills them and causes the stench of decaying bodies to rise up high, signifying the sins of all nations, so that their filth and impurities fill the mountains with blood. The lofty virtues and angels that presided over each nation and all the celestial hosts wither away, or fold up like a book, and all their armies and forces, as the LXX have translated, and the stars flow down like leaves, which, with the approaching cold, fall off dried and contracted from the vine and fig tree. Which also the Savior speaks in the Gospel: Stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven (Matthew 24:29-30). And it is to be considered that it does not say that the heavens will perish, but that they will be folded up or rolled up, like a book, so that after all sins have been exposed and read, those that were previously open may be folded up, so that the sins of many may no longer be written in them. Regarding these type of books, Daniel speaks in his volume: Judgment sat, and the books were opened (Dan. 7:10), in which the deeds of each individual were described. Many people think that the stars are falling, according to the Book of Revelation of John (Rev. 6 and 8). And that which is written elsewhere: All the stars will burn out and the sky and earth will pass away (Luke 21:2). For the figure of this world is passing away. Some believe that these stars are being referred to. which glow in the sky, so as to show in part and as a whole, namely that through the fall of the stars even the destruction of the heavens is revealed. But others think that these stars are going to fall, of which even the Apostle Paul writes: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. It is not surprising, therefore, if the demons who dwell in the air are said to be heavenly, since even the birds of the sky, which certainly do not fly in the heavens but in the air, are called celestial in Scripture. For Satan himself transforms into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11), simulating a star. And the Savior saw him falling from heaven like lightning (Luke 10). And in a metaphorical sense, he is called fallen from the great star: How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! (Isaiah 14:12). All these things will happen, because his sword is drunk in the sky, the punishment and the sentence, and the vengeance against sinners, which is brought forth by the Lord. This sword and dagger in Ezekiel (Ezek. XXI) is sharpened against the wicked; and after many are killed, he is ordered to enter his sheath. And when he is drunk and filled in the sky; that is, in the air, which is called heaven according to the custom of the Scriptures, then he will also descend to Edom, that is, to the earthly: so that after the punishment of the demons, even the souls of men may be judged. Idumaea indeed in our language means earthly. And it is filled with blood; and thickened with the fat of lambs and goats, and of the marrow of rams and bulls: that it may signify both princes and people to be punished. For the Lord's victim is in Bosra, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Of which Bosra and Idumaea the same prophet also witnesses in the following, saying: Who is this that comes from Edom, with red garments from Bosra? And some think that Bosra, which means 'flesh', is called so because through the sacrifice of the Lord in Bosra, the torments of all are shown in the flesh: they are caught in a pious error. In the present place, it is not by the letter Sin, which is put in Bosor (), that is, in the flesh: but it is written with Sade, and it is called Bosra (), which according to Jesus and Jeremiah is not in Edom, that is, Edom; but it is found in the land of Moab (Jeremiah 48). But Bosra in our language sounds fortified and surrounded, or firm: it teaches that the city of the lands of the Lord is solidified by His will, according to what is sung in the psalm; He founded it above the seas, and He placed it above the rivers (Psalm 24, 2); and about the firmness of the earth, it is said in the person of God: I have strengthened its pillars (Psalm 75, 3). And when the sacrifice of the Lord shall be in Bosra, and his slaughter in Edom, unicorns shall come down with them, and the powerful bulls, namely kings and princes of the earth; and all the slaughter and blood shall be filled with the fat of the once rich and powerful. Through these words, according to human custom, instilling terror in those who hear them, torments are shown to all the rulers and powerful ones, as well as the people and the humble. Bosra, that is, fortified and strengthened, and Edom, or Duma, and Idumea, are understood by the Jewish teachers to refer to Rome, and everything concerning it is said in the following chapter.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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