Isaiah 17:13
in Isaiah 17The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
KJV
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
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This verse in Isaiah 17
Commentary
9 notes on this verseThe nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters,.... With great force and noise, and run over the whole land, as the Assyrian army did, until it came to Jerusalem, and there it stopped; see Isa 8:7, but God shall rebuke them; as he did the waters of the Red Sea, Psa 106:9 and as Christ rebuked the winds and sea, and made a calm, Mat 8:
This site's exposition
Woe to the multitude of many people
on Isaiah 17:12-14
The oracle closes by widening its lens from Damascus and Ephraim to every nation that rushes against Zion: woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas, and to the rushing of nations like the rushing of mighty waters. But God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind and a rolling thing before the whirlwind, trouble at evening and by morning he is not. Matthew Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown both read the sudden reversal as the pattern Isaiah repeats at Sennacherib's later siege, an army that seems unstoppable at nightfall and is gone by dawn.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 13) But when they come raging and flood my land, then their leader Sennacherib will flee, reproached by him, and be scattered like dust carried by the wind, and whirled up into the sky like a storm. Indeed, he will approach Jerusalem, besieging it, but he will be struck down by an angel.
(Verse 13) But when raging warriors come and inundate my land, then their prince Sennacherib will flee from them, rebuked, and they will be scattered like dust in a plundering storm. As the top of a whirl-wind revolves, so will he be struck by an angel when he approaches Jerusalem to besiege her.
(Verse 13) But to them, like raging seas, the Lord will rebuke the instigator of their sedition, and He will drive him away from His people. And as dust moved on the mountains, the higher it is, the stronger it is carried away; and as a whirlwind, which rises from the earth, is carried away into the sky by a sudden storm: so also he, being carried away, will be separated from the people of God and will flee, lest he be relegated to the abyss.
The Medieval Church1 voice
As to the shout of their fighting, nations shall make a noise, in battle, above: behold the Lord will bring upon them the waters of the river strong and many (Isa 8:7); their voice shall roar like the sea (Jer 6:23); many waters, many peoples …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
3 The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the L ORD of hosts. 4 And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.
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2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
God shall rebuke them - The word ‘God’ is not here in the original, but is evidently to be supplied. The word ‘rebuke’ means that he would disarrange their plans, prevent their success, and defeat their purposes. It shows the great power of God, that he can thus by a “rebuke” - a word - arrest mighty nations, and discomfit thom when they are tumultuously hastening onward in the confidence of victory. This discomfiture refers, doubtless, to the overthrow of Sennacherib and his army by the pestilence (2Ki 19:35; see the notes at Isa 37:36).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
shall . . . shall--rather, "God rebuketh (Ps 9:5) them, and they flee--are chased"; the event is set before the eyes as actually present, not future. chaff of . . . mountains--Threshing floors in the East are in the open air on elevated places, so as to catch the wind which separates the chaff from the wheat (Ps 88:13;
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How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and He shall rebuke them [lit.] him i.e., the Holy One, blessed be He, [shall rebuke] that rushing [or throng].
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Woe to a multitude of many peoples This is a principle followed throughout all generations; the scourge by which Israel is punished, shall eventually suffer. Therefore, the prophets who prophesy Israel’s retribution through the nations, juxtapose after it the retribution of the nation by which Israel was punished.
and behold there is fright Demons come upon the enemy and frighten him.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְאֻמִּ֗ים | leumim | nations | H3816 → | 31 times |
| כִּשְׁא֞וֹן | kishon | like [the] uproar of | H7588 → | 18 times |
| מַ֤יִם | mayim | waters | H4325 → | 581 times |
| רַבִּים֙ | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| יִשָּׁא֔וּן | yishaun | they are in an uproar ! | H7582 → | 6 times |
| וְגָ֥עַר | vegaar | and he will rebuke | H1605 → | |
| בּ֖וֹ | bo | <in> it | ||
| וְנָ֣ס | venas | and it will flee | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מִמֶּרְחָ֑ק | mimerchak | from a distance | H4801 → | 18 times |
| וְרֻדַּ֗ף | verudaf | and it will be chased | H7291 → | 143 times |
| כְּמֹ֤ץ | kemotz | like chaff of | H4671 → | 8 times |
| הָרִים֙ | harim | mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| לִפְנֵי־ | lifnei- | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| ר֔וּחַ | ruach | a wind | H7307 → | 378 times |
| וּכְגַלְגַּ֖ל | ukhegalgal | and like whirling dust | H1534 → | |
| לִפְנֵ֥י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| סוּפָֽה׃ | sufah | a storm-wind | H5492 → | 16 times |
לְאֻמִּ֗יםnations
leumimH3816 →31 times
כִּשְׁא֞וֹןlike [the] uproar of
kishonH7588 →18 times
מַ֤יִםwaters
mayimH4325 →581 times
רַבִּים֙many
rabimH7227 →454 times
יִשָּׁא֔וּןthey are in an uproar !
yishaunH7582 →6 times
וְגָ֥עַרand he will rebuke
vegaarH1605 →
בּ֖וֹ<in> it
bo
וְנָ֣סand it will flee
venasH5127 →159 times
מִמֶּרְחָ֑קfrom a distance
mimerchakH4801 →18 times
וְרֻדַּ֗ףand it will be chased
verudafH7291 →143 times
כְּמֹ֤ץlike chaff of
kemotzH4671 →8 times
הָרִים֙mountains
harimH2022 →546 times
לִפְנֵי־<to> before
lifnei-H6440 →2123 times
ר֔וּחַa wind
ruachH7307 →378 times
וּכְגַלְגַּ֖לand like whirling dust
ukhegalgalH1534 →
לִפְנֵ֥י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
סוּפָֽה׃a storm-wind
sufahH5492 →16 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 1:4Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:5
May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Job 21:18
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
- Matthew 3:12
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor and to gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
- Hosea 13:3
Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.
- Isaiah 29:5
But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
- Psalms 35:5
Through
Psalms 9:5You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Malachi 4:3
Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- Proverbs 10:7
Through
Job 21:18Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
it leads to
- Psalms 1:4
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
- Psalms 1:4
About Isaiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; Jerome, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 5:17.12-14; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.