Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, November 12th, 2024
the Week of Proper 27 / Ordinary 32
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Read the Bible

English Standard Version

Isaiah 24:17

Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Wicked (People);   Thompson Chain Reference - Courage-Fear;   Fear;   Guilty Fear;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Isaiah;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Prophecy, prophet;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Earthquake;   Hunt;   Isaiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Isaiah, Book of;   Pit;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Hunting;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Deep;   Jeremiah, Book of;  

Parallel Translations

Easy-to-Read Version
I see troubles for you people living in this land. I see fear, pits, and problems all around.
New Living Translation
Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth.
Update Bible Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are on you, O inhabitant of the earth.
New Century Version
There are terrors, holes, and traps for the people of the earth.
New English Translation
Terror, pit, and snare are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth!
Webster's Bible Translation
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
World English Bible
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are on you, O inhabitant of the earth.
Amplified Bible
Terror and pit [of destruction] and snare Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Ferdfulnesse, and a diche, and a snare on thee, that art a dwellere of erthe.
English Revised Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dwellers of the earth.
Contemporary English Version
Terror, traps, and pits are waiting for everyone.
American Standard Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Bible in Basic English
Fear, and death, and the net, are come on you, O people of the earth.
Complete Jewish Bible
Terror, pit and trap are upon you, you who are living on earth.
Darby Translation
Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, inhabitant of the land.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Terror, and the pit, and the trap, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
King James Version (1611)
Feare, and the pit, & the snare are vpon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
New Life Bible
Fear and the deep hole and the trap are before you, O people of the earth.
New Revised Standard
Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
Geneva Bible (1587)
Feare, and the pitte, and the snare are vpon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
George Lamsa Translation
Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitants of the earth.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Terror and pit and snare, - are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth!
Douay-Rheims Bible
Fear, and the pit, and the snare are upon thee, O thou inhabitant of the earth.
Revised Standard Version
Terror, and the pit, and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Fearefulnesse, the pit, and the snare are vpon thee, O thou that dwellest on the earth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Fear, and a pit, and a snare, are upon you that dwell on the earth.
Good News Translation
Listen to me, everyone! There are terrors, pits, and traps waiting for you.
Christian Standard Bible®
Panic, pit, and trap await youwho dwell on the earth.
Hebrew Names Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are on you, O inhabitant of the eretz.
King James Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Lexham English Bible
Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, inhabitants of the earth!
Literal Translation
Dread, and the pit, and a snare are upon you, one living in the earth.
Young's Literal Translation
Fear, and a snare, and a gin, [Are] on thee, O inhabitant of the land.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And therfore, (o thou that dwellest vpon the earth) there is at hode for the, feare, pyt and snare.
THE MESSAGE
The Landscape Will Be a Moonscape Danger ahead! God 's about to ravish the earth and leave it in ruins, Rip everything out by the roots and send everyone scurrying: priests and laypeople alike, owners and workers alike, celebrities and nobodies alike, buyers and sellers alike, bankers and beggars alike, the haves and have-nots alike. The landscape will be a moonscape, totally wasted. And why? Because God says so. He's issued the orders. The earth turns gaunt and gray, the world silent and sad, sky and land lifeless, colorless. Earth is polluted by its very own people, who have broken its laws, Disrupted its order, violated the sacred and eternal covenant. Therefore a curse, like a cancer, ravages the earth. Its people pay the price of their sacrilege. They dwindle away, dying out one by one. No more wine, no more vineyards, no more songs or singers. The laughter of castanets is gone, the shouts of celebrants, gone, the laughter of fiddles, gone. No more parties with toasts of champagne. Serious drinkers gag on their drinks. The chaotic cities are unlivable. Anarchy reigns. Every house is boarded up, condemned. People riot in the streets for wine, but the good times are gone forever— no more joy for this old world. The city is dead and deserted, bulldozed into piles of rubble. That's the way it will be on this earth. This is the fate of all nations: An olive tree shaken clean of its olives, a grapevine picked clean of its grapes. But there are some who will break into glad song. Out of the west they'll shout of God 's majesty. Yes, from the east God 's glory will ascend. Every island of the sea Will broadcast God 's fame, the fame of the God of Israel. From the four winds and the seven seas we hear the singing: "All praise to the Righteous One!" But I said, "That's all well and good for somebody, but all I can see is doom, doom, and more doom." All of them at one another's throats, yes, all of them at one another's throats. Terror and pits and booby traps are everywhere, whoever you are. If you run from the terror, you'll fall into the pit. If you climb out of the pit, you'll get caught in the trap. Chaos pours out of the skies. The foundations of earth are crumbling. Earth is smashed to pieces, earth is ripped to shreds, earth is wobbling out of control, Earth staggers like a drunk, sways like a shack in a high wind. Its piled-up sins are too much for it. It collapses and won't get up again. That's when God will call on the carpet rebel powers in the skies and Rebel kings on earth. They'll be rounded up like prisoners in a jail, Corralled and locked up in a jail, and then sentenced and put to hard labor. Shamefaced moon will cower, humiliated, red-faced sun will skulk, disgraced, Because God -of-the-Angel-Armies will take over, ruling from Mount Zion and Jerusalem, Splendid and glorious before all his leaders.
New American Standard Bible
Terror and pit and snare Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
New King James Version
Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Terror and pit and snare Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.
Legacy Standard Bible
Panic and pit and pitfallAre upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.

Contextual Overview

16 From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One. But I say, "I waste away, I waste away. Woe is me! For the traitors have betrayed, with betrayal the traitors have betrayed." 17 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth! 18 He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble. 19 The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. 21 On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the Lord of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and the pit: Leviticus 26:21, Leviticus 26:22, 1 Kings 19:17, Jeremiah 8:3, Jeremiah 48:43, Jeremiah 48:44, Ezekiel 14:21

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 32:23 - heap mischiefs Psalms 11:6 - Upon Isaiah 24:22 - they shall Jeremiah 11:11 - which Jeremiah 16:16 - every mountain Lamentations 2:22 - my terrors Lamentations 3:47 - Fear Ezekiel 11:8 - General Ezekiel 12:13 - My net Amos 5:19 - As if Amos 9:1 - shall not flee Micah 6:14 - and thou Luke 21:35 - as Revelation 3:10 - to try

Cross-References

Genesis 24:1
Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things.
Genesis 24:6
Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there.
Genesis 24:7
The Lord , the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
Genesis 24:17
Then the servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a little water to drink from your jar."
Genesis 24:18
She said, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly let down her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.
Genesis 24:35
The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become great. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, camels and donkeys.
1 Kings 17:10
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink."
Isaiah 21:14
To the thirsty bring water; meet the fugitive with bread, O inhabitants of the land of Tema.
Isaiah 30:25
And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Isaiah 49:10
they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth. This is to be understood not of the land of Judea only, and the inhabitants of it, but of all the earth; Kimchi interprets it of the nations of the world, particularly the Greeks and Turks; but the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, are meant, as the following verses show. There is an elegant play on words in the Hebrew, which cannot well be expressed in English, in the words "pachad, pachath, pach", fear, pit, and a snare; which are expressive of a variety of dangers, difficulties, and distresses; there seems to be an allusion to creatures that are hunted, who flee through fear, and fleeing fall into pits, or are entangled in snares, and so taken. Before the last day, or second coming of Christ to judge the world, there will be great perplexity in men's minds, great dread and fear upon their hearts, and much distress of nations; and the coming of the Son of Man will be as a snare upon the earth; see Luke 21:25.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Fear, and the pit - This verse is an explanation of the cause of the wretchedness referred to in the previous verse. The same expression is found in Jeremiah 48:43, in his account of the destruction that would come upon Moab, a description which Jeremiah probably copied from Isaiah - There is also here in the original a “paronomasia” that cannot be retained in a translation - פחד ופחת ופח pachad vâpachath vâpach - where the form פח pach occurs in each word. The sense is, that they were nowhere safe; that if they escaped one danger, they immediately fell into another. The expression is equivalent to that which occurs in the writings of the Latin classics:

Incidit in Scyllam cupiens vitare Charybdin.

The same idea, that if a man should escape from one calamity he would fall into another, is expressed in another form in Amos 5:19 :

As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him;

Or went into a house, and leaned his hand on the wall,

And a serpent bit him.

In the passage before us, there is an advance from one danger to another, or the subsequent one is more to be dreaded than the preceding. The figure is taken from the mode of taking wild beasts, where various nets, toils, or pitfalls were employed to secure them. The word ‘fear’ (פחד pachad), denotes anything that was used to frighten or arouse the wild beasts in hunting, or to drive them into the pitfall that was prepared for them. Among the Romans the name ‘fears’ (“formidines”) was given to lines or cords strung with feathers of all colors, which, when they fluttered in the air or were shaken, frightened the beasts into the pits, or the birds into the snares which were prepared to take them (Seneca, De Ira, ii. 122; virg. AE. xii. 7499; Geor. iii. 372). It is possible that this may be referred to here under the name of ‘fear.’ The word ‘pit’ (פחת pachat) denotes the pitfall; a hole dug in the ground, and covered over with bushes, leaves, etc., into which they might fall unawares. The word ‘snare’ (פח pach) denotes a net, or gin, and perhaps refers to a series of nets enclosing at first a large space of ground, in which the wild beasts were, and then drawn by degrees into a narrow compass, so that they could not escape.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Isaiah 24:17. Fear, and the pit - "The terror, the pit"] If they escape one calamity, another shall overtake them.

"As if a man should flee from a lion, and a bear should

overtake him:

Or should betake himself to his house, and lean his hand

on the wall,

And a serpent should bite him."

Amos 5:19.


"For," as our Saviour expressed it in a like parabolical manner, "wheresoever the carcass is there shall the eagles be gathered together," Matthew 24:28. The images are taken from the different methods of hunting and taking wild beasts, which were anciently in use. The terror was a line strung with feathers of all colours, which fluttering in the air scared and frightened the beasts into the toils, or into the pit which was prepared for them. Nec est mirum, cum maximos ferarum greges linea pennis distincta contineat, et in insidias agat, ab ipso effectu dicta formido. Seneca de Ira, ii. 12. The pit or pitfall, fovea; digged deep in the ground, and covered over with green boughs, turf, c., in order to deceive them, that they might fall into it unawares. The snare, or toils, indago a series of nets, inclosing at first a great space of ground, in which the wild beasts were known to be; and then drawn in by degrees into a narrower compass, till they were at last closely shut up, and entangled in them. - L.

For מכול mikkol, a MS. reads מפני mippeney, as it is in Jeremiah 48:44, and so the Vulgate and Chaldee. But perhaps it is only, like the latter, a Hebraism, and means no more than the simple preposition מ mem. See Psalms 102:6. For it does not appear that the terror was intended to scare the wild beasts by its noise. The paronomasia is very remarkable; פחד pachad, פחת pachath, פך pach: and that it was a common proverbial form, appears from Jeremiah's repeating it in the same words, Jeremiah 48:43-44.


 
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