Psalms 46:3

46:3 when its waves ¹  crash ²  and foam,

and the mountains shake ³  before the surging sea. ⁴  (Selah)

Psalms 93:3-4

93:3 The waves ⁵  roar, O Lord,

the waves roar,

the waves roar and crash. ⁶ 

93:4 Above the sound of the surging water, ⁷ 

and the mighty waves of the sea,

the Lord sits enthroned in majesty. ⁸ 

Isaiah 5:30

5:30 At that time ⁹  they will growl over their prey, ¹⁰ 

it will sound like sea waves crashing against rocks. ¹¹ 

One will look out over the land and see the darkness of disaster,

clouds will turn the light into darkness. ¹² 

Isaiah 51:15

51:15 I am the Lord your God,

who churns up the sea so that its waves surge.

The Lord who commands armies is his name!

[46:3]  ¹ tn Heb “its waters.”

[46:3]  ² tn Or “roar.”

[46:3]  ³ tn The three imperfect verbal forms in v. 3 draw attention to the characteristic nature of the activity described.

[46:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “at its swelling.” The Hebrew word often means “pride.” If the sea is symbolic of hostile nations, then this may be a case of double entendre. The surging, swelling sea symbolizes the proud, hostile nations. On the surface the psalmist appears to be depicting a major natural catastrophe, perhaps a tidal wave. If so, then the situation would be hypothetical. However, the repetition of the verbs הָמָה (hamah, “crash; roar,” v. 3) and מוֹט (mot, “shake,” v. 2) in v. 6, where nations/kingdoms “roar” and “shake,” suggests that the language of vv. 2-3 is symbolic and depicts the upheaval that characterizes relationships between the nations of the earth. As some nations (symbolized by the surging, chaotic waters) show hostility, others (symbolized by the mountains) come crashing down to destruction. The surging waters are symbolic of chaotic forces in other poetic texts (see, for example, Isa 17:12; Jer 51:42) and mountains can symbolize strong kingdoms (see, for example, Jer 51:25).

[93:3]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew noun translated “waves” often refers to rivers or streams, but here it appears to refer to the surging waves of the sea (see v. 4, Ps 24:2).

[93:3]  ⁶ tn Heb “the waves lift up, O Lord, the waves lift up their voice, the waves lift up their crashing.”

[93:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “mighty waters.”

[93:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “mighty on high [is] the Lord.”

[5:30]  ⁹ tn Or “in that day” (KJV).

[5:30]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “over it”; the referent (the prey) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:30]  ¹¹ tn Heb “like the growling of the sea.”

[5:30]  ¹² tn Heb “and one will gaze toward the land, and look, darkness of distress, and light will grow dark by its [the land’s?] clouds.”