Ezekiel 30:11

30:11 He and his people with him,

the most terrifying of the nations, ¹ 

will be brought there to destroy the land.

They will draw their swords against Egypt,

and fill the land with corpses.

Ezekiel 31:12

31:12 Foreigners from the most terrifying nations have cut it down and left it to lie there on the mountains. In all the valleys its branches have fallen, and its boughs lie broken in the ravines of the land. All the peoples of the land ²  have departed ³  from its shade and left it.

Ezekiel 32:12

32:12 By the swords of the mighty warriors I will cause your hordes to fall –

all of them are the most terrifying among the nations.

They will devastate the pride of Egypt,

and all its hordes will be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 28:49-50

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.

Isaiah 25:3-4

25:3 So a strong nation will extol you;

the towns of ⁶  powerful nations will fear you.

25:4 For you are a protector for the poor,

a protector for the needy in their distress,

a shelter from the rainstorm,

a shade from the heat.

Though the breath of tyrants ⁷  is like a winter rainstorm, ⁸ 

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ⁹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ¹⁰  It had two large rows ¹¹  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Habakkuk 1:6-8

1:6 Look, I am about to empower ¹²  the Babylonians,

that ruthless ¹³  and greedy ¹⁴  nation.

They sweep across the surface ¹⁵  of the earth,

seizing dwelling places that do not belong to them.

1:7 They are frightening and terrifying;

they decide for themselves what is right. ¹⁶ 

1:8 Their horses are faster than leopards

and more alert ¹⁷  than wolves in the desert. ¹⁸ 

Their horses ¹⁹  gallop, ²⁰ 

their horses come a great distance;

like a vulture ²¹  they swoop down quickly to devour their prey. ²² 

[30:11]  ¹ tn The Babylonians were known for their cruelty (2 Kgs 25:7).

[31:12]  ² tn Or “earth” (KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[31:12]  ³ tn Heb “gone down.”

[28:49]  ⁴ tn Heb “from the end of the earth.”

[28:49]  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.

[25:3]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew text has a singular form, but it should be emended to a plural or eliminated altogether. The noun may have been accidentally copied from the preceding verse.

[25:4]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps, “the violent”; NIV, NRSV “the ruthless.”

[25:4]  ⁸ tc The Hebrew text has, “like a rainstorm of a wall,” which might be interpreted to mean, “like a rainstorm battering against a wall.” The translation assumes an emendation of קִיר (qir, “wall”) to קֹר (qor, “cold, winter”; cf. Gen 8:22). See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:457, n. 6, for discussion.

[7:7]  ⁹ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ¹⁰ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ¹¹ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[1:6]  ¹² tn Heb “raise up” (so KJV, ASV).

[1:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “bitter.” Other translation options for this word in this context include “fierce” (NASB, NRSV); “savage” (NEB); or “grim.”

[1:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “hasty, quick.” Some translate here “impetuous” (so NEB, NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “rash,” but in this context greed may very well be the idea. The Babylonians move quickly and recklessly ahead in their greedy quest to expand their empire.

[1:6]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “the open spaces.”

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “from him his justice, even his lifting up, goes out.” In this context שְׂאֵת (sÿ’et) probably has the nuance “authority.” See R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 150.

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “sharper,” in the sense of “keener” or “more alert.” Some translate “quicker” on the basis of the parallelism with the first line (see HALOT 291 s.v. חדד).

[1:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “wolves of the evening,” that is, wolves that prowl at night. The present translation assumes an emendation to עֲרָבָה (’aravah, “desert”). On this phrase see also Zeph 3:3.

[1:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “horsemen,” “cavalry.”

[1:8]  ²⁰ tn The precise nuance of the rare verb פָּוַשׁ (parash) is unclear here. Elsewhere it is used of animals jumping or leaping (see Jer 50:11; Mal 4:2).

[1:8]  ²¹ tn Or “eagle” (so NASB, NRSV). The term can refer to either eagles or vultures, but in this context of gruesome destruction and death “vulture” is preferred.

[1:8]  ²² tn Heb “they fly like a vulture/an eagle quickly to devour.” The direct object “their prey” is not included in the Hebrew text but is implied, and has been supplied in the translation for clarity.