Isaiah 24:17-18

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! ¹ 

24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror

will fall into the pit; ² 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ³  are opened up ⁴ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Isaiah 51:19

51:19 These double disasters confronted you.

But who feels sorry for you?

Destruction and devastation,

famine and sword.

But who consoles you? ⁵ 

Jeremiah 48:43-44

48:43 Terror, pits, and traps ⁶  are in store

for the people who live in Moab. ⁷ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁸ 

48:44 Anyone who flees at the sound of terror

will fall into a pit.

Anyone who climbs out of the pit

will be caught in a trap. ⁹ 

For the time is coming

when I will punish the people of Moab. ¹⁰ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹¹ 

Luke 21:35

21:35 For ¹²  it will overtake ¹³  all who live on the face of the whole earth. ¹⁴ 

[24:17]  ¹ tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.

[24:18]  ² tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[24:18]  ³ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ⁴ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[51:19]  ⁵ tc The Hebrew text has אֲנַחֲמֵךְ (’anakhamekh), a first person form, but the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a reads correctly יִנַחֲמֵךְ (yinakhamekh), a third person form.

[48:43]  ⁶ sn There is an extended use of assonance here and in the parallel passage in Isa 24:17. The Hebrew text reads פַּחַד וָפַחַת וָפָח (pakhad vafakhat vafakh). The assonance is intended to underscore the extensive trouble that is in store for them.

[48:43]  ⁷ tn Heb “are upon you, inhabitant of Moab.” This is another example of the rapid switch in person or direct address (apostrophe) in the midst of a third person description or prediction which the present translation typically keeps in the third person for smoother English style.

[48:43]  ⁸ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:44]  ⁹ sn Jer 48:43-44a are in the main the same as Isa 24:17-18 which shows that the judgment was somewhat proverbial. For a very similar kind of argumentation see Amos 5:19; judgment is unavoidable.

[48:44]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “For I will bring upon her, even upon Moab, the year of her punishment.”

[48:44]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[21:35]  ¹² tn There is debate in the textual tradition about the position of γάρ (gar) and whether v. 35 looks back to v. 34 or is independent. The textual evidence does slightly favor placing γάρ after the verb and thus linking it back to v. 34. The other reading looks like Isa 24:17. However, the construction is harsh and the translation prefers for stylistic reasons to start a new English sentence here.

[21:35]  ¹³ tn Or “come upon.”

[21:35]  ¹⁴ sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.