Jeremiah 5:15

5:15 The Lord says, ¹  “Listen, ²  nation of Israel! ³ 

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.

Deuteronomy 28:49-52

28:49 The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth ⁴  as the eagle flies, ⁵  a nation whose language you will not understand, 28:50 a nation of stern appearance that will have no regard for the elderly or pity for the young. 28:51 They ⁶  will devour the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your soil until you are destroyed. They will not leave you with any grain, new wine, olive oil, calves of your herds, ⁷  or lambs of your flocks ⁸  until they have destroyed you. 28:52 They will besiege all of your villages ⁹  until all of your high and fortified walls collapse – those in which you put your confidence throughout the land. They will besiege all your villages throughout the land the Lord your God has given you.

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.”

¹ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

² tn Heb “Behold!”

³ tn Heb “house of Israel.”

⁴ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”

⁵ 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.

⁶ tn Heb “it” (so NRSV), a collective singular referring to the invading nation (several times in this verse and v. 52).

⁷ tn Heb “increase of herds.”

⁸ tn Heb “growth of flocks.”

⁹ tn Heb “gates,” also in vv. 55, 57.