Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 34:6

"The sword of Jehovah is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams; for Jehovah hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom." — Isaiah 34:6 (ASV)

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood - The idea here is taken from the concept of sacrifice: God would devote the inhabitants of Idumea to sacrifice or destruction. In reference to that, He says that His sword, the instrument of slaughter, would be satiated with blood. It is made fat with fatness. The allusion here is to the sacrifices made for sin, in which the blood and the fat were devoted to God as an offering .

With the blood of lambs and goats - These were the animals usually offered in sacrifice to God among the Jews. To speak of a sacrifice was the same as to speak of offering rams, lambs, bullocks, etc. Yet it is evident that these terms denote the people of Idumea here and are used to maintain the imagery of a sacrifice.

The idea of sacrifice was always connected with slaughter, as the animals were slaughtered before being offered. Therefore, the idea here is that there would be a great slaughter in Idumea, so much like a sacrifice that they would be devoted to God and His cause.

It is not probable that any particular classes of people are denoted by the different animals mentioned here. Since the animals mentioned include all, or nearly all, those usually offered in sacrifice, the expressions simply denote that all classes of people in Idumea would be devoted to slaughter.

Grotius, however, supposes that the animals specified are intended to represent the following classes: the lambs, the people in general; the goats, the priests; and the rams, the opulent inhabitants.

For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah - Bozrah is mentioned here as one of the chief cities of Idumea. It was a city of great antiquity, known among the Greeks and Romans by the name of Bostra.

It is generally mentioned in the Scriptures as a city of the Edomites (Isaiah 63:1; Jeremiah 49:13, 22; Amos 1:12), but once it is mentioned as a city of Moab (Jeremiah 48:24). It probably belonged to both nations at different periods, as the possession of cities often changed hands in their wars.

Bozrah lay southeast of Edrei, one of the capitals of Bashan. Thus, it was not properly within the limits of the Edomites but was north of the Ammonites, in the region of Auranitis, or what is now called the Houran.

Therefore, it is evident that in Isaiah's time, the Edomites had extended their conquests to that region.

According to Burckhardt, who visited the Houran and went to Bozrah, it is to this day one of the most important cities there. He says, “It is situated in the open plain and is at present the last inhabited place in the southeast extremity of the Houran. It was formerly the capital of the Arabia Provincia and is now, including its ruins, the largest town in the Houran.

“It is oval-shaped, its greatest length being from east to west; its circumference is three-quarters of an hour. It was anciently encompassed by a thick wall, which gave it the reputation of great strength.

“Many parts of this wall, especially on the west side, remain; it was constructed of stones of moderate size, strongly cemented together. The south and southeast quarters are covered with ruins of private dwellings, the walls of many of which are still standing, but the roofs have fallen in. The style of building seems to have been similar to that observed in all the other ancient towns of the Houran.

“On the west side are springs of fresh water, of which I counted five beyond the precincts of the town and six within the walls. Their waters unite with a rivulet whose source is on the northwest side, within the town, and which loses itself in the southern plain at several hours’ distance; it is called by the Arabs El Djeheir.

“The principal ruins of Bozrah are the following:

• A square building which is circular inside and has many arches and niches in the wall. The diameter of the rotunda is four paces; its roof has fallen in, but the walls are entire. It appears to have been a Greek church.
• An oblong square building, called by the natives Deir Boheiry, or the Monastery of the priest Boheiry.
• The gate of an ancient house communicating with the ruins of an edifice, the only remains of which is a large semicircular vault.
• The great mosque of Bozrah, which is certainly coeval with the first era of Mahometanism and is commonly ascribed to Omar el Khattah. The walls of the mosque are covered with a fine coat of plaster, upon which are many Cufic inscriptions in bas-relief, running all around the wall.
• The remains of a temple, situated on the side of a long street which runs across the whole town and terminates at the western gate.” etc.

Of these and other magnificent ruins of temples, theaters, and palaces, all attesting to its former importance, Burckhardt has given a copious description in his Travels in Syria, pp. 226-235, Quarto ed., London, 1822.