23:19 But just watch! 1 The wrath of the Lord
will come like a storm! 2
Like a raging storm it will rage down 3
on the heads of those who are wicked.
30:23 Just watch! The wrath of the Lord
will come like a storm.
Like a raging storm it will rage down
on the heads of those who are wicked.
5:28 Their arrows are sharpened,
and all their bows are prepared. 4
The hooves of their horses are hard as flint, 5
and their chariot wheels are like a windstorm. 6
30:30 The Lord will give a mighty shout 7
and intervene in power, 8
with furious anger and flaming, destructive fire, 9
with a driving rainstorm and hailstones.
3:8 Therefore you must wait patiently 10 for me,” says the Lord,
“for the day when I attack and take plunder. 11
I have decided 12 to gather nations together
and assemble kingdoms,
so I can pour out my fury on them –
all my raging anger.
For 13 the whole earth will be consumed
by my fiery anger.
1 tn Heb “Behold!”
2 tn The syntax of this line has generally been misunderstood, sometimes to the point that some want to delete the word wrath. Both here and in 30:23 where these same words occur the word “anger” stands not as an accusative of attendant circumstance but an apposition, giving the intended referent to the figure. Comparison should be made with Jer 25:15 where “this wrath” is appositional to “the cup of wine” (cf. GKC 425 §131.k).
3 tn The translation is deliberate, intending to reflect the repetition of the Hebrew root which is “swirl/swirling.”
4 tn Heb “bent” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); NIV “are strung.”
5 tn Heb “regarded like flint.”
6 sn They are like a windstorm in their swift movement and in the way they kick up dust.
7 tn Heb “the Lord will cause the splendor of his voice to be heard.”
8 tn Heb “and reveal the lowering of his arm.”
9 tn Heb “and a flame of consuming fire.”
10 tn The second person verb form (“you must wait patiently”) is masculine plural, indicating that a group is being addressed. Perhaps the humble individuals addressed earlier (see 2:3) are in view. Because of Jerusalem’s sin, they must patiently wait for judgment to pass before their vindication arrives.
11 tn Heb “when I arise for plunder.” The present translation takes עַד (’ad) as “plunder.” Some, following the LXX, repoint the term עֵד (’ed) and translate, “as a witness” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV). In this case the Lord uses a legal metaphor to picture himself as testifying against his enemies. Adele Berlin takes לְעַד (lÿ’ad) in a temporal sense (“forever”) and translates “once and for all” (Zephaniah [AB 25A], 133).
12 tn Heb “for my decision is.”
13 tn Or “certainly.”