Deuteronomy 28:25

Curses by Defeat and Deportation

28:25 “The Lord will allow you to be struck down before your enemies; you will attack them from one direction but flee from them in seven directions and will become an object of terror ¹  to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Deuteronomy 32:30

32:30 How can one man chase a thousand of them, ² 

and two pursue ten thousand;

unless their Rock had delivered them up, ³ 

and the Lord had handed them over?

Psalms 118:12

118:12 They surrounded me like bees.

But they disappeared as quickly ⁴  as a fire among thorns. ⁵ 

Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

Isaiah 7:18

7:18 At that time ⁶  the Lord will whistle for flies from the distant streams of Egypt and for bees from the land of Assyria. ⁷ 

[28:25]  ¹ tc The meaningless MT reading זַעֲוָה (za’avah) is clearly a transposition of the more commonly attested Hebrew noun זְוָעָה (zÿva’ah, “terror”).

[32:30]  ² tn The words “man” and “of them” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[32:30]  ³ tn Heb “sold them” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[118:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “were extinguished.”

[118:12]  ⁵ tn The point seems to be that the hostility of the nations (v. 10) is short-lived, like a fire that quickly devours thorns and then burns out. Some, attempting to create a better parallel with the preceding line, emend דֹּעֲכוּ (do’akhu, “they were extinguished”) to בָּעֲרוּ (ba’aru, “they burned”). In this case the statement emphasizes their hostility.

[7:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV). The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:18]  ⁷ sn Swarming flies are irritating; bees are irritating and especially dangerous because of the pain they inflict with their sting (see Deut 1:44; Ps 118:12). The metaphors are well chosen, for the Assyrians (symbolized by the bees) were much more powerful and dangerous than the Egyptians (symbolized by the flies). Nevertheless both would put pressure on Judah, for Egypt wanted Judah as a buffer state against Assyrian aggression, while Assyrian wanted it as a base for operations against Egypt. Following the reference to sour milk and honey, the metaphor is especially apt, for flies are attracted to dairy products and bees can be found in the vicinity of honey.