Isaiah 24:18

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

will fall into the pit; ¹ 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ²  are opened up ³ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Jeremiah 48:44

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. ⁴ 

For the time is coming

when I will punish the people of Moab. ⁵ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁶ 

Amos 2:14-15

2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; ⁷ 

strong men will have no strength left; ⁸ 

warriors will not be able to save their lives.

2:15 Archers ⁹  will not hold their ground; ¹⁰ 

fast runners will not save their lives,

nor will those who ride horses. ¹¹ 

Amos 5:19

5:19 Disaster will be inescapable, ¹² 

as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear,

then escaped ¹³  into a house,

leaned his hand against the wall,

and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

Amos 9:3

9:3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,

I would hunt them down and take them from there.

Even if they tried to hide from me ¹⁴  at the bottom of the sea,

from there ¹⁵  I would command the Sea Serpent ¹⁶  to bite them.

Luke 13:4

13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed ¹⁷  when the tower in Siloam fell on them, ¹⁸  do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? ¹⁹ 

[24:18]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ³ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[48:44]  ⁴ 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]  ⁵ tn Heb “For I will bring upon her, even upon Moab, the year of her punishment.”

[48:44]  ⁶ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “and a place of refuge will perish from the swift.”

[2:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “the strong will not increase his strength.”

[2:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “the one who holds the bow.”

[2:15]  ¹⁰ tn For the idiom of “holding [or “standing”] one’s ground” in battle, there is a similar phrase in Ezek 13:5; also related is the expression “to hold one’s own against” (or “to withstand”) in Judg 2:14; 2 Kgs 10:4; Dan 8:7 (see S. M. Paul, Amos [Hermeneia], 97). Other options include “will not endure” or “will not survive.”

[2:15]  ¹¹ tn The last two lines read literally, “The one fast in his feet will not rescue [his life], and the rider of the horse will not rescue his life.” The phrase “his life” does double duty in the parallelism and should be understood in both lines.

[5:19]  ¹² tn The words “Disaster will be inescapable” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[5:19]  ¹³ tn Heb “went” (so KJV, NRSV).

[9:3]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “from before my eyes.”

[9:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or perhaps simply, “there,” if the מ (mem) prefixed to the adverb is dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem).

[9:3]  ¹⁶ sn If the article indicates a definite serpent, then the mythological Sea Serpent, symbolic of the world’s chaotic forces, is probably in view. See Job 26:13 and Isa 27:1 (where it is also called Leviathan). Elsewhere in the OT this serpent is depicted as opposing the Lord, but this text implies that even this powerful enemy of God is ultimately subject to his sovereign will.

[13:4]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.” This relative clause embedded in a prepositional phrase is complex in English and has been simplified to an adjectival and a temporal clause in the translation.

[13:4]  ¹⁸ sn Unlike the previous event, when the tower in Siloam fell on them, it was an accident of fate. It raised the question, however, “Was this a judgment?”

[13:4]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.