Isaiah 2:19

2:19 They ¹  will go into caves in the rocky cliffs

and into holes in the ground, ² 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ³ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ⁴ 

Isaiah 2:21

2:21 so they themselves can go into the crevices of the rocky cliffs

and the openings under the rocky overhangs, ⁵ 

trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord ⁶ 

and his royal splendor,

when he rises up to terrify the earth. ⁷ 

Isaiah 22:4-5

22:4 So I say:

“Don’t look at me! ⁸ 

I am weeping bitterly.

Don’t try ⁹  to console me

concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” ¹⁰ 

22:5 For the sovereign master, ¹¹  the Lord who commands armies,

has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. ¹² 

In the Valley of Vision ¹³  people shout ¹⁴ 

and cry out to the hill. ¹⁵ 

Isaiah 33:14

33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion;

panic ¹⁶  grips the godless. ¹⁷ 

They say, ¹⁸  ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire?

Who among us can coexist with unquenchable ¹⁹  fire?’

Luke 23:27-30

23:27 A great number of the people followed him, among them women ²⁰  who were mourning ²¹  and wailing for him. 23:28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, ²²  do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves ²³  and for your children. 23:29 For this is certain: ²⁴  The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’ ²⁵  23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ²⁶  ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ²⁷ 

James 5:5

5:5 You have lived indulgently and luxuriously on the earth. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. ²⁸ 

[2:19]  ¹ tn The identity of the grammatical subject is unclear. The “idols” could be the subject; they will “go” into the caves and holes when the idolaters throw them there in their haste to escape God’s judgment (see vv. 20-21). The picture of the idols, which represent the foreign deities worshiped by the people, fleeing from the Lord would be highly polemical and fit the overall mood of the chapter. However it seems more likely that the idolaters themselves are the subject, for v. 10 uses similar language in sarcastically urging them to run from judgment.

[2:19]  ² tn Heb “dust”; ASV “into the holes of the earth.”

[2:19]  ³ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:19]  ⁴ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men.

[2:21]  ⁵ sn The precise point of vv. 20-21 is not entirely clear. Are they taking the idols into their hiding places with them, because they are so attached to their man-made images? Or are they discarding the idols along the way as they retreat into the darkest places they can find? In either case it is obvious that the gods are incapable of helping them.

[2:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “from the dread of the Lord,” that is, from the dread that he produces in the objects of his judgment.” The words “trying to escape” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:21]  ⁷ tn Or “land.” It is not certain if these verses are describing the judgment of Judah (see vv. 6-9) or a more universal judgment on all proud men. Almost all English versions translate “earth,” taking this to refer to universal judgment.

[22:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[22:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).

[22:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.

[22:5]  ¹¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 12, 14, 15 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[22:5]  ¹² tn Heb “For [there is] a day of panic, and trampling, and confusion for the master, the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts].”

[22:5]  ¹³ tn The traditional accentuation of the Hebrew text suggests that this phrase goes with what precedes.

[22:5]  ¹⁴ tn The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Some take קִר (qir) as “wall” and interpret the verb to mean “tear down.” However, tighter parallelism (note the reference to crying for help in the next line) is achieved if one takes both the verb and noun from a root, attested in Ugaritic and Arabic, meaning “make a sound.” See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:404, n. 5.

[22:5]  ¹⁵ sn Perhaps “the hill” refers to the temple mount.

[33:14]  ¹⁶ tn Or “trembling” (ASV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); NLT “shake with fear.”

[33:14]  ¹⁷ tn Or “the defiled”; TEV “The sinful people of Zion”; NLT “The sinners in Jerusalem.”

[33:14]  ¹⁸ tn The words “they say” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[33:14]  ¹⁹ tn Or “perpetual”; or “everlasting” (KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[23:27]  ²⁰ sn The background of these women is disputed. Are they “official” mourners of Jesus’ death, appointed by custom to mourn death? If so, the mourning here would be more pro forma. However, the text seems to treat the mourning as sincere, so their tears and lamenting would have been genuine.

[23:27]  ²¹ tn Or “who were beating their breasts,” implying a ritualized form of mourning employed in Jewish funerals. See the note on the term “women” earlier in this verse.

[23:28]  ²² sn The title Daughters of Jerusalem portrays these women mourning as representatives of the nation.

[23:28]  ²³ sn Do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves. Judgment now comes on the nation (see Luke 19:41-44) for this judgment of Jesus. Ironically, they mourn the wrong person – they should be mourning for themselves.

[23:29]  ²⁴ tn Grk “For behold.”

[23:29]  ²⁵ tn Grk “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed!”

[23:30]  ²⁶ sn The figure of crying out to the mountains ‘Fall on us!’ (appealing to creation itself to hide them from God’s wrath), means that a time will come when people will feel they are better off dead (Hos 10:8).

[23:30]  ²⁷ sn An allusion to Hos 10:8 (cf. Rev 6:16).

[5:5]  ²⁸ sn James’ point seems to be that instead of seeking deliverance from condemnation, they have defied God’s law (fattened your hearts) and made themselves more likely objects of his judgment (in a day of slaughter).