Exodus 15:15

15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, ¹ 

trembling will seize ²  the leaders of Moab,

and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.

Deuteronomy 2:25

2:25 This very day I will begin to fill all the people of the earth ³  with dread and to terrify them when they hear about you. They will shiver and shake in anticipation of your approach.” ⁴ 

Joshua 2:10-11

2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵  2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. ⁶  For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!

Joshua 2:24

2:24 They told Joshua, “Surely the Lord is handing over all the land to us! ⁷  All who live in the land are cringing before us!” ⁸ 

Joshua 9:24

9:24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects ⁹  how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified ¹⁰  we would lose our lives, so we did this thing.

Psalms 53:5

53:5 They are absolutely terrified, ¹¹ 

even by things that do not normally cause fear. ¹² 

For God annihilates ¹³  those who attack you. ¹⁴ 

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 23:5

23:5 When the news reaches Egypt,

they will be shaken by what has happened to Tyre. ¹⁶ 

¹ tn This is a prophetic perfect.

² tn This verb is imperfect tense.

³ tn Heb “under heaven” (so NIV, NRSV).

⁴ tn Heb “from before you.”

⁵ tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”

⁶ tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”

⁷ tn Heb “Surely the Lord has given into our hand all the land.” The report by the spies uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

⁸ tn Heb “are melting away because of us.”

⁹ tn Heb “your servants.”

¹⁰ tn Or “we were very afraid.”

¹¹ tn Heb “there they are afraid [with] fear.” The perfect verbal form is probably used in a rhetorical manner; the psalmist describes the future demise of the oppressors as if it were already occurring. The adverb שָׁם (sham, “there”) is also used here for dramatic effect, as the psalmist envisions the wicked standing in fear at a spot that is this vivid in his imagination (BDB 1027 s.v.). The cognate accusative following the verb emphasizes the degree of their terror (“absolutely”).

¹² tn Heb “there is no fear.” Apparently this means the evildoers are so traumatized with panic (see v. 5b) that they now jump with fear at everything, even those things that would not normally cause fear. Ps 14:5 omits this line.

¹³ tn Heb “scatters the bones.” The perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. Scattering the bones alludes to the aftermath of a battle. God annihilates his enemies, leaving their carcasses spread all over the battlefield. As the bodies are devoured by wild animals and decay, the bones of God’s dead enemies are exposed. See Ps 141:7.

¹⁴ tn Heb “[those who] encamp [against] you.” The second person masculine singular pronominal suffix probably refers to God’s people viewed as a collective whole. Instead of “for God scatters the bones of those who encamp against you,” Ps 14:5 reads, “for God is with a godly generation.”

¹⁵ tn Once again the perfect is used in a rhetorical manner, describing this future judgment as if it were already accomplished. As in the previous line, God’s people are probably addressed. The second person singular verb form is apparently collective, suggesting that the people are viewed here as a unified whole. Ps 14:6 reads here “the counsel of the oppressed you put to shame, even though God is his shelter,” the words being addressed to the wicked.

¹⁶ tn Heb “they will be in pain at the report of Tyre.”