Isaiah 33:3
in Isaiah 33The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
At the noise of the tumult the peoples are fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations are scattered.
KJV
At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.
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This verse in Isaiah 33
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
At the noise of the tumult - Lowth supposes that this is addressed by the prophet in the name of God, or rather by God himself to the Assyrian, and that it means that notwithstanding the terror which he had caused the invaded countries, he would himself fall and become an easy prey to those whom he intended to subdue.
This site's exposition
O Lord, be gracious unto us
on Isaiah 33:2-4
Against the spoiler's coming judgment the prophet sets a prayer, O Lord, be gracious unto us, we have waited for thee, asking that the arm now raised in threat become Judah's own salvation in the day of trouble. The prayer is answered in the next two verses with a rout: at the noise of the tumult peoples flee, and when the Lord lifts himself up the nations are scattered like a locust swarm gathering and stripping a field bare. Barnes reads the abrupt shift from woe to prayer to victory as the chapter's pattern throughout, threat and deliverance following one another because both come from the same hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2 and following) Lord, have mercy on us: for we have waited for you: be our strength in the morning, and our salvation in time of trouble. At the voice of the Angel, the people fled; at your exaltation the nations were scattered. And your spoil will be gathered, as the locust is gathered, as when the ditches are full of it. The Lord is magnified, for he dwells on high: he has filled Zion with judgment and justice.
The Medieval Church1 voice
718. Third, he sets out the fulfillment of this petition, first, setting out the destruction of the Assyrians as to the dispersion of their army: at the voice of the angel, killing many, the people, the Assyrians who were left remaining, above: and his princes …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
When God did thus lift up himself the several nations, or clans, of which the army was composed, were scattered. It was time to stir when such an unprecedented plague broke out among them. When God arises his enemies are scattered, Ps. lxviii.
They prayed that God would save them from their enemies; but he did more than that; he gave them victory over their enemies and abundant cause to triumph; for, 1. The strength of the Assyrian camp was broken (
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At the noise of the tumult the people fled,....
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the tumult--the approach of Jehovah is likened to an advancing thunderstorm (Isa 29:6; 30:27), which is His voice (Re 1:15), causing the people to "flee." nation--the Assyrian levies.
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At the noise of the tumult “From thy terrible voice” - For המון hamon, “multitude,” the Septuagint and Syriac read אמיך amica, “terrible,” whom I follow.
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מִקּ֣וֹל | mikol | from [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| הָמ֔וֹן | hamon | tumult | H1995 → | 83 times |
| נָדְד֖וּ | nadedu | they flee | H5074 → | 28 times |
| עַמִּ֑ים | ʾamim | peoples | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מֵר֣וֹמְמֻתֶ֔ךָ | meromutekha | from arising your | H7427 → | |
| נָפְצ֖וּ | nafetzu | they scatter | H5310 → | 22 times |
| גּוֹיִֽם׃ | goyim | nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
מִקּ֣וֹלfrom [the] sound of
mikolH6963 →506 times
הָמ֔וֹןtumult
hamonH1995 →83 times
נָדְד֖וּthey flee
nadeduH5074 →28 times
עַמִּ֑יםpeoples
ʾamimH5971 →1873 times
מֵר֣וֹמְמֻתֶ֔ךָfrom arising your
meromutekhaH7427 →
נָפְצ֖וּthey scatter
nafetzuH5310 →22 times
גּוֹיִֽם׃nations
goyimH1471 →561 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 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 46:6Nations rage, kingdoms crumble; the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
it leads to
- Amos 9:5
The Lord GOD of Hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, and all its dwellers mourn—all the land rises like the Nile, then sinks like the river of Egypt—
- Psalms 18:13
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded— hailstones and coals of fire.
- Habakkuk 3:5–6
Plague went before Him, and fever followed in His steps.
- Micah 1:4
The mountains will melt beneath Him, and the valleys will split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope.
- Nahum 1:5
The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers.
- Amos 9:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.