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,

Isaiah 28:11-12

28:11 For with mocking lips and a foreign tongue

he will speak to these people. ³ 

28:12 In the past he said to them, ⁴ 

“This is where security can be found.

Provide security for the one who is exhausted!

This is where rest can be found.” ⁵ 

But they refused to listen.

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.

[28:49]  ¹ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”

[28:49]  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.

[28:11]  ³ sn This verse alludes to the coming Assyrian invasion, when the people will hear a foreign language that sounds like gibberish to them. The Lord is the subject of the verb “will speak,” as v. 12 makes clear. He once spoke in meaningful terms, but in the coming judgment he will speak to them, as it were, through the mouth of foreign oppressors. The apparent gibberish they hear will be an outward reminder that God has decreed their defeat.

[28:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “who said to them.”

[28:12]  ⁵ sn This message encapsulates the Lord’s invitation to his people to find security in his protection and blessing.

[5:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”

[5:15]  ⁷ tn Heb “Behold!”

[5:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “house of Israel.”