4:19 A whirlwind has wrapped them in its wings;
they will be brought to shame because of their idolatrous worship. 1
1:4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead 2 they are like wind-driven chaff. 3
17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 4
when he shouts at 5 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 6 before a strong gale.
41:16 You will winnow them and the wind will blow them away;
the wind will scatter them.
You will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.
4:11 “At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem 7 will be told,
‘A scorching wind will sweep down
from the hilltops in the desert on 8 my dear people. 9
It will not be a gentle breeze
for winnowing the grain and blowing away the chaff. 10
17:10 Consider! It is planted, but will it prosper?
Will it not wither completely when the east wind blows on it?
Will it not wither in the soil where it sprouted?’”
19:12 But it was plucked up in anger; it was thrown down to the ground.
The east wind 11 dried up its fruit;
its strong branches broke off and withered –
a fire consumed them.
1 tn Heb “their altars” (so NAB, NRSV) or “their sacrifices” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). Here זִבְחוֹתָם (zivkhotam, “altars; sacrifices”) is a metonymy of association for Israel’s apostate idolatrous Baal worship.
2 tn Here the Hebrew expression כִּי־אִם (ki-’im, “instead,” cf. v. 2) introduces a contrast between the prosperity of the godly depicted in v. 3 and the destiny of the wicked described in v. 4.
3 tn Heb “[they are] like the chaff which [the] wind blows about.” The Hebrew imperfect verbal form draws attention to the typical nature of the action described.
4 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
5 tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.
6 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
7 tn Heb “this people and Jerusalem.”
8 tn Heb “A scorching wind from the hilltops in the desert toward…”
9 tn Heb “daughter of my people.” The term “daughter of” is appositional to “my people” and is supplied in the translation as a term of sympathy and endearment. Compare the common expression “daughter of Zion.”
10 tn Heb “not for winnowing and not for cleansing.” The words “It will not be a gentle breeze” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation here for clarification.
11 sn The east wind symbolizes the Babylonians.