Psalms 18:4

18:4 The waves ¹  of death engulfed me,

the currents ²  of chaos ³  overwhelmed me. ⁴ 

Psalms 42:7

42:7 One deep stream calls out to another ⁵  at the sound of your waterfalls; ⁶ 

all your billows and waves overwhelm me. ⁷ 

Psalms 69:15

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit ⁸  devour me! ⁹ 

Isaiah 8:7-8

8:7 So look, the sovereign master ¹⁰  is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River ¹¹  – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. ¹²  8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ¹³  O Immanuel.” ¹⁴ 

Isaiah 28:2

28:2 Look, the sovereign master ¹⁵  sends a strong, powerful one. ¹⁶ 

With the force of a hailstorm or a destructive windstorm, ¹⁷ 

with the might of a driving, torrential rainstorm, ¹⁸ 

he will knock that crown ¹⁹  to the ground with his hand. ²⁰ 

Isaiah 59:19

59:19 In the west, people respect ²¹  the Lord’s reputation; ²² 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ²³ 

For he comes like a rushing ²⁴  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ²⁵ 

Jeremiah 46:7-8

46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like its streams ²⁶  turbulent at flood stage?

46:8 Egypt rises like the Nile,

like its streams turbulent at flood stage.

Egypt says, ‘I will arise and cover the earth.

I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’

Daniel 9:26

9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,

an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. ²⁷ 

As for the city and the sanctuary,

the people of the coming prince will destroy ²⁸  them.

But his end will come speedily ²⁹  like a flood. ³⁰ 

Until the end of the war that has been decreed

there will be destruction.

Revelation 12:15-16

12:15 Then ³¹  the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to ³²  sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but ³³  the earth came to her rescue; ³⁴  the ground opened up ³⁵  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.

Revelation 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ³⁶  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ³⁷  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ³⁸  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Revelation 17:15

17:15 Then ³⁹  the angel ⁴⁰  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ⁴¹  nations, and languages.

[18:4]  ¹ tc Ps 18:4 reads “ropes,” while 2 Sam 22:5 reads “waves.” The reading of the psalm has been influenced by the next verse (note “ropes of Sheol”) and perhaps also by Ps 116:3 (where “ropes of death” appears, as here, with the verb אָפַף, ’afaf). However, the parallelism of v. 4 (note “currents” in the next line) favors the reading “waves.” While the verb אָפַף is used with “ropes” as subject in Ps 116:3, it can also be used with engulfing “waters” as subject (see Jonah 2:5). Death is compared to surging waters in v. 4 and to a hunter in v. 5.

[18:4]  ² tn The Hebrew noun נַחַל (nakhal) usually refers to a river or stream, but in this context the plural form likely refers to the currents of the sea (see vv. 15-16).

[18:4]  ³ tn The noun בְלִיַּעַל (vÿliyya’al) is used here as an epithet for death. Elsewhere it is a common noun meaning “wickedness, uselessness.” It is often associated with rebellion against authority and other crimes that result in societal disorder and anarchy. The phrase “man/son of wickedness” refers to one who opposes God and the order he has established. The term becomes an appropriate title for death, which, through human forces, launches an attack against God’s chosen servant.

[18:4]  ⁴ tn In this poetic narrative context the prefixed verbal form is best understood as a preterite indicating past tense, not an imperfect. (Note the perfect verbal form in the parallel/preceding line.) The verb בָּעַת (ba’at) sometimes by metonymy carries the nuance “frighten,” but the parallelism (see “engulfed”) favors the meaning “overwhelm” here.

[42:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “deep calls to deep.” The Hebrew noun תְּהוֹם (tÿhom) often refers to the deep sea, but here, where it is associated with Hermon, it probably refers to mountain streams. The word can be used of streams and rivers (see Deut 8:7; Ezek 31:4).

[42:7]  ⁶ tn The noun צִנּוֹר (tsinnor, “waterfall”) occurs only here and in 2 Sam 5:8, where it apparently refers to a water shaft. The psalmist alludes to the loud rushing sound of mountain streams and cascading waterfalls. Using the poetic device of personification, he imagines the streams calling out to each other as they hear the sound of the waterfalls.

[42:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “pass over me” (see Jonah 2:3). As he hears the sound of the rushing water, the psalmist imagines himself engulfed in the current. By implication he likens his emotional distress to such an experience.

[69:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).

[69:15]  ⁹ tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the mighty and abundant waters of the river.” The referent of “the river” here, the Euphrates River, has been specified in the translation for clarity. As the immediately following words indicate, these waters symbolize the Assyrian king and his armies which will, as it were, inundate the land.

[8:7]  ¹² tn Heb “it will go up over all its stream beds and go over all its banks.”

[8:8]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ¹⁴ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[28:2]  ¹⁵ tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here and in vv. 16, 22 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[28:2]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Look, a strong and powerful [one] belongs to the Lord.”

[28:2]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of hail, a wind of destruction.”

[28:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “like a rainstorm of mighty, overflowing waters.”

[28:2]  ¹⁹ tn The words “that crown” are supplied in the translation for clarification. The object of the verb is unexpressed in the Hebrew text.

[28:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “by [his] power.”

[59:19]  ²¹ tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ²² tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ²³ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ²⁴ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).

[46:7]  ²⁶ tn The word translated “streams” here refers to the streams of the Nile (cf. Exod 7:19; 8:1) for parallel usage.

[9:26]  ²⁷ sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.

[9:26]  ²⁸ tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”

[9:26]  ²⁹ tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[9:26]  ³⁰ sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.

[12:15]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:15]  ³² tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”

[12:16]  ³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:16]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ³⁵ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[17:1]  ³⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ³⁷ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ³⁸ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[17:15]  ³⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.