Psalms 11:6

11:6 May the Lord rain down ¹  burning coals ²  and brimstone ³  on the wicked!

A whirlwind is what they deserve! ⁴ 

Ecclesiastes 9:12

9:12 Surely, no one ⁵  knows his appointed time! ⁶ 

Like fish that are caught in a deadly ⁷  net, and like birds that are caught in a snare –

just like them, all people ⁸  are ensnared ⁹  at an unfortunate ¹⁰  time that falls upon them suddenly.

Isaiah 24:17-18

24:17 Terror, pit, and snare

are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! ¹¹ 

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

will fall into the pit; ¹² 

the one who climbs out of the pit,

will be trapped by the snare.

For the floodgates of the heavens ¹³  are opened up ¹⁴ 

and the foundations of the earth shake.

Jeremiah 48:43-44

48:43 Terror, pits, and traps ¹⁵  are in store

for the people who live in Moab. ¹⁶ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ¹⁷ 

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. ¹⁸ 

For the time is coming

when I will punish the people of Moab. ¹⁹ 

I, the Lord, affirm it! ²⁰ 

Revelation 16:15

16:15 (Look! I will come like a thief!

Blessed is the one who stays alert and does not lose ²¹  his clothes so that he will not have to walk around naked and his shameful condition ²²  be seen.) ²³ 

[11:6]  ¹ tn The verb form is a jussive, indicating that the statement is imprecatory (“May the Lord rain down”), not indicative (“The Lord rains down”; see also Job 20:23). The psalmist appeals to God to destroy the wicked, rather than simply stating his confidence that God will do so. In this way the psalmist seeks to activate divine judgment by appealing to God’s just character. For an example of the power of such a curse, see Judg 9:7-57.

[11:6]  ² tc The MT reads “traps, fire, and brimstone,” but the image of God raining traps, or snares, down from the sky is bizarre and does not fit the fire and storm imagery of this verse. The noun פַּחִים (pakhim, “traps, snares”) should be emended to פַּחֲמֵי (pakhamey, “coals of [fire]”). The rare noun פֶּחָם (pekham, “coal”) occurs in Prov 26:21 and Isa 44:12; 54:16.

[11:6]  ³ sn The image of God “raining down” brimstone on the objects of his judgment also appears in Gen 19:24 and Ezek 38:22.

[11:6]  ⁴ tn Heb “[may] a wind of rage [be] the portion of their cup.” The precise meaning of the rare noun זִלְעָפוֹת (zil’afot) is uncertain. It may mean “raging heat” (BDB 273 s.v. זַלְעָפָה) or simply “rage” (HALOT 272 s.v. זַלְעָפָה). If one understands the former sense, then one might translate “hot wind” (cf. NEB, NRSV). The present translation assumes the latter nuance, “a wind of rage” (the genitive is attributive) referring to a “whirlwind” symbolic of destructive judgment. In this mixed metaphor, judgment is also compared to an allotted portion of a beverage poured into one’s drinking cup (see Hab 2:15-16).

[9:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “man.” The term is used here in a generic sense and translated “no one.”

[9:12]  ⁶ tn Heb “time.” BDB 773 s.v. עֵת 2.d suggests that עֵת (’et, “time”) refers to an “uncertain time.” On the other hand, HALOT 901 s.v. עֵת 6 nuances it as “destined time,” that is, “no one knows his destined time [i.e., hour of destiny].” It is used in parallelism with זְמָן (zÿman, “appointed time; appointed hour”) in 3:1 (HALOT 273 s.v. זְמָן; BDB 273 s.v. זְמָן). Eccl 3:9-15 teaches God’s sovereignty over the appointed time-table of human events. Similarly, Qoheleth here notes that no one knows what God has appointed in any situation or time. This highlights the limitations of human wisdom and human ability, as 9:11 stresses.

[9:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “bad, evil.” The moral connotation hardly fits here. The adjective would seem to indicate that the net is the instrument whereby the fish come to ruin.

[9:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[9:12]  ⁹ tn The Masoretes pointed the consonantal form יוקשׁים (“are ensnared”) as יוּקָשִׁים (yuqashim, Pual participle mpl from ַָיקֹשׁ, yaqosh, “to be ensnared”). This is an unusual form for a Pual participle: (1) The characteristic doubling of the middle consonant was omitted due to the lengthening of the preceding short vowel from יֻקָּשִׁים to יוּקָשִׁים (GKC 74 §20.n and 143 §52.s), and (2) The characteristic prefix מְ (mem) is absent, as in a few other Pual participles, e.g., Exod 3:2; Judg 13:8; 2 Kgs 2:10; Isa 30:24; 54:11 (GKC 143 §52.s). On the other hand, the consonant form יוקשים might actually be an example of the old Qal passive participle which dropped out of Hebrew at an early stage, and was frequently mistaken by the Masoretes as a Pual form (e.g., Jer 13:10; 23:32) (GKC 143 §52.s). Similarly, the Masoretes pointed אכל as אֻכָּל (’ukkal, Pual perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”); however, it probably should be pointed אֻכַל (’ukhal, old Qal passive perfect 3rd person masculine singular “he was eaten”) because אָכַל (’akhal) only occurs in the Qal (see IBHS 373-74 §22.6a).

[9:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “evil.” The term רָעָה (ra’ah, “evil; unfortunate”) is repeated in v. 12 in the two parts of the comparison: “fish are caught in an evil (רָעָה) net” and “men are ensnared at an unfortunate (רָעָה) time.”

[24:17]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”

[24:18]  ¹⁴ sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).

[48:43]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[48:44]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “For I will bring upon her, even upon Moab, the year of her punishment.”

[48:44]  ²⁰ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[16:15]  ²¹ tn Grk “and keeps.” BDAG 1002 s.v. τηρέω 2.c states “of holding on to someth. so as not to give it up or lose it…τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ Rv 16:15 (or else he will have to go naked).”

[16:15]  ²² tn On the translation of ἀσχημοσύνη (aschmosunh) as “shameful condition” see L&N 25.202. The indefinite third person plural (“and they see”) has been translated as a passive here.

[16:15]  ²³ sn These lines are parenthetical, forming an aside to the narrative. The speaker here is the Lord Jesus Christ himself rather than the narrator. Many interpreters have seen this verse as so abrupt that it could not be an original part of the work, but the author has used such asides before (1:7; 14:13) and the suddenness here (on the eve of Armageddon) is completely parallel to Jesus’ warning in Mark 13:15-16 and parallels.