Add parallel Print Page Options

12 Ah! the roaring of many peoples—[a]
    a roar like the roar of the seas!
The thundering of nations—
    thunder like the thundering of mighty waters!(A)
13 [b]But God shall rebuke them,
    and they shall flee far away,
Driven like chaff on the mountains before a wind,
    like tumbleweed before a storm.(B)
14 At evening, there is terror,
    but before morning, they are gone!
Such is the portion of those who despoil us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.(C)

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 17:12 Many peoples: the hordes that accompanied the invading Assyrians, whom God repels just as he vanquished the primeval waters of chaos; see notes on Jb 3:8; 7:12; Ps 89:11.
  2. 17:13–14 The passage seems to evoke the motif of invincibility, part of the early Zion tradition that Jerusalem could not be conquered because God protected it (Ps 48:1–8).

12 Woe to the many nations that rage(A)
    they rage like the raging sea!(B)
Woe to the peoples who roar(C)
    they roar like the roaring of great waters!(D)
13 Although the peoples roar(E) like the roar of surging waters,
    when he rebukes(F) them they flee(G) far away,
driven before the wind like chaff(H) on the hills,
    like tumbleweed before a gale.(I)
14 In the evening, sudden(J) terror!(K)
    Before the morning, they are gone!(L)
This is the portion of those who loot us,
    the lot of those who plunder us.

Read full chapter