Isaiah 39:3

39:3 Isaiah the prophet visited King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say? Where do they come from?” Hezekiah replied, “They come from the distant land of Babylon.”

Deuteronomy 28:49

28:49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth ¹  as the eagle flies, ²  a nation whose language you will not understand,

Psalms 72:8

72:8 May he rule ³  from sea to sea, ⁴ 

and from the Euphrates River ⁵  to the ends of the earth!

Jeremiah 5:15

5:15 The Lord says, ⁶  “Listen, ⁷  nation of Israel! ⁸ 

I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.

It will be a nation that was founded long ago

and has lasted for a long time.

It will be a nation whose language you will not know.

Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.

Malachi 1:11

1:11 For from the east to the west my name will be great among the nations. Incense and pure offerings will be offered in my name everywhere, for my name will be great among the nations,” ⁹  says the Lord who rules over all.

¹ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”

² tn Some translations understand this to mean “like an eagle swoops down” (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), comparing the swift attack of an eagle to the attack of the Israelites’ enemies.

³ tn The prefixed verbal form is a (shortened) jussive form, indicating this is a prayer of blessing.

⁴ sn From sea to sea. This may mean from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east. See Amos 8:12. The language of this and the following line also appears in Zech 9:10.

⁵ tn Heb “the river,” a reference to the Euphrates.

⁶ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

⁷ tn Heb “Behold!”

⁸ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

⁹ sn My name will be great among the nations. In what is clearly a strongly ironic shift of thought, the Lord contrasts the unbelief and virtual paganism of the postexilic community with the conversion and obedience of the nations that will one day worship the God of Israel.