This verse adds more animals to the picture of slaughter in Edom. It repeats the words blood and fat from the previous verse. Even the Hebrew word for made rich is a repetition of the verb rendered “is gorged.”

Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls: As in the previous verse, three animals are mentioned. Of these animals, only steers and bulls were normally used for sacrifice. The inclusion of wild oxen seems to imply that all animals, including the wild ones, would be slaughtered. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant have “buffaloes.” However, translators should be careful not to use the names of domestic or wild animals that are part of their culture but that are not found in the Bible. The verb fall indicates these animals will be put to death. The phrase with them probably refers to the animals mentioned in the first half of verse 6, and thus indirectly to the people of Edom. However, some scholars question this and have emended the text to read “with fatted calves” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible). There is no textual evidence to suggest that Masoretic Text is incorrect, so translators should follow it, which is the recommendation of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project. Revised English Bible and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch render with them as “also,” which is valid.

Good News Translation‘s rendering of the first half of this verse places the focus on the Edomite people (similarly Contemporary English Version with its reference to “Edom’s leaders”). It compares their slaughter with that of the animals. Although this interpretation is likely to be correct, Good News Translation is too explicit. This information could be included in a footnote.

Their land shall be soaked with blood: Their land refers to the land of the people of Edom, not to the land of the animals. Shall be soaked renders the same Hebrew verb translated “drunk its fill” in verse 5. This line pictures the land saturated with the blood of the animals that was poured out.

And their soil made rich with fat: The Hebrew noun rendered soil is the usual word for “dust.” Here it refers to fine soil. The fat from the sacrificial animals, like the blood, falls to the ground and saturates it. The Hebrew verb rendered made rich can also mean “anoint,” but since it is parallel with the verb “soak,” it has the sense of “saturate” here. This line does not mean that the soil of Edom will be enriched by the fat of the dead animals, but that it will be filled with their remains because of the great slaughter.

Two translation examples for this verse are:

• Wild buffalo will die with them,
young steers with the mighty bulls.
Blood will soak their land,
and fat will saturate their soil.

• Wild oxen will be killed with them,
young steers along with the mighty bulls.
Their land will be drenched with blood
and their soil with fat.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .