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 11:15

11:15 The Lord will divide ⁵  the gulf ⁶  of the Egyptian Sea; ⁷ 

he will wave his hand over the Euphrates River ⁸  and send a strong wind, ⁹ 

he will turn it into seven dried-up streams, ¹⁰ 

and enable them to walk across in their sandals.

Isaiah 19:16

19:16 At that time ¹¹  the Egyptians ¹²  will be like women. ¹³  They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them. ¹⁴ 

Job 16:12

16:12 I was in peace, and he has shattered me. ¹⁵ 

He has seized me by the neck and crushed me. ¹⁶ 

He has made me his target;

Hebrews 12:26

12:26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.” ¹⁷ 

[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.

[11:15]  ⁵ tn The verb is usually understood as “put under the ban, destroy,” or emended to חָרָב (kharav, “dry up”). However, HALOT 354 s.v. II חרם proposes a homonymic root meaning “divide.”

[11:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “tongue” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[11:15]  ⁷ sn That is, the Red Sea.

[11:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “the river”; capitalized in some English versions (e.g., ASV, NASB, NRSV) as a reference to the Euphrates River.

[11:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “with the [?] of his wind” [or “breath”]. The Hebrew term עַיָם (’ayam) occurs only here. Some attempt to relate the word to an Arabic root and translate, “scorching [or “hot”] wind.” This interpretation fits especially well if one reads “dry up” in the previous line. Others prefer to emend the form to עֹצֶם (’otsem, “strong”). See HALOT 817 s.v. עֲצַם.

[11:15]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “seven streams.” The Hebrew term נַחַל (nakhal, “stream”) refers to a wadi, or seasonal stream, which runs during the rainy season, but is otherwise dry. The context (see v. 15b) here favors the translation, “dried up streams.” The number seven suggests totality and completeness. Here it indicates that God’s provision for escape will be thorough and more than capable of accommodating the returning exiles.

[19:16]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in that day” (so KJV), likewise at the beginning of vv. 18 and 19.

[19:16]  ¹² tn Heb “Egypt,” which stands by metonymy for the country’s inhabitants.

[19:16]  ¹³ sn As the rest of the verse indicates, the point of the simile is that the Egyptians will be relatively weak physically and will wilt in fear before the Lord’s onslaught.

[19:16]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he will tremble and be afraid because of the brandishing of the hand of the Lord who commands armies [traditionally, the Lord of hosts], which he brandishes against him.” Since according to the imagery here the Lord’s “hand” is raised as a weapon against the Egyptians, the term “fist” has been used in the translation.

[16:12]  ¹⁵ tn The verb פָּרַר (parar) means “to shake.” In the Hiphil it means “to break; to shatter” (5:12; 15:4). The Pilpel means “to break in pieces,” and in the Poel in Jer 23:29 “to smash up.” So Job was living at ease, and God shattered his life.

[16:12]  ¹⁶ tn Here is another Pilpel, now from פָּצַץ (patsats) with a similar meaning to the other verb. It means “to dash into pieces” and even scatter the pieces. The LXX translates this line, “he took me by the hair of the head and plucked it out.”

[12:26]  ¹⁷ sn A quotation from Hag 2:6.