"I lift My Hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever,
(So His people are sure to understand what He is about to say,
the Lord raises His Hand, using the common gesture
that people use when they swear an oath to tell the truth.
As do people who swear an oath who swear by God,
the Lord swears by God, by Himself,
since there is nothing greater, no one greater, than God Eternal.
He wants to make clear to us that what He is about to say is absolute truth.)
when I sharpen My flashing sword and My Hand grasps it is judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me.
(The Lord says that those who come against His people are His enemies as well. In God's just and holy verdict on His enemies, He will draw His sword of judgment from its sheath, sharpen it, and take hold of it, so there can be no doubt that He will use it. The flashing sword is a reference to the glittering light of His justice and shows how His judgment will pierce the injustice before Him. The Lord's message to us today is that He will vindicate those of us who have been attacked and overcome by the enemy, that He will inflict judgment on those who have set themselves against us.) I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders."
(God's righteous vengeance will devour the deeds and lives
of those who dare to war against the Lord.
His judgment will come upon those who have fought against God's people,
and He will defeat them and abolish them.
While we today may feel alone or unprotected, the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord Himself, proclaims that He protects and delivers and vindicates us.)
