Isaiah 17:13
WEB
The nations will rush like the rushing of many waters, but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far off, and will be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
BSB
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
KJV
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.
Matthew Henry
Hebrew interlinear
H3816
n-m — community
Derivation: or לְאוֹם; from an unused root meaning to gather;
a community
KJV: nation, people.
n.m — people
לְאֹם, לְאוֹם n.m. people, poet. and chiefly late
H7588
n-m — uproar, rushing, destruction
Derivation: from 7582;
uproar (as of rushing); by implication, destruction
KJV: × horrible, noise, pomp, rushing, tumult (× -uous).
n.m — roar
שָׁאוֹן n.m. roar (of waters, etc.), din, crash, uproar
H4325
n-m — water, juice, urine, semen
Derivation: dual of a primitive noun (but used in a singular sense);
water; figuratively, juice; by euphemism, urine, semen
KJV: piss, wasting, water(-ing, (-course, -flood, -spring)).
n.m — waters
[מַי] 580 n.m. only pl. מַ֫יִם waters, water
H7227
a n-m — abundant
Derivation: by contracted from 7231;
abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality)
KJV: (in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), (ship-)master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).
n.m — chief
רַב 49 n.m. chief
adj — much
רַב 429 adj. much, many, great
1. (oft. opp. מְעַט)
a.
(1). much: of substances
(2). esp. of collectives, numerous
b. pl. many
c. רַב as subst. coll. pers.
d. cstr. = abounding in
e. מִן comp. = more numerous than
f. רַב = abundant, enough
g. as adv. much, exceedingly
2. less oft. great
H7582
v — rush, desolate
Derivation: a primitive root;
to rush; by implication, to desolate
KJV: be desolate, (make a) rush(-ing), (lay) waste.
vb — make a din
[שָׁאָה] vb. make a din or crash, crash into ruins
Qal until cities have crashed into ruins
Niph. usu., and the ground be ruined into a desolation
Hiph. to cause … cities to crash into ruined heaps.
H1605
v — chide
Derivation: a primitive root;
to chide
KJV: corrupt, rebuke, reprove.
vb — rebuke
גָּעַר vb. rebuke
H5127
v — flit, vanish
Derivation: a primitive root;
to flit, i.e. vanish away (subside, escape; causatively, chase, impel, deliver)
KJV: × abate, away, be displayed, (make to) flee (away, -ing), put to flight, × hide, lift up a standard.
vb — flee
נוּס 160 vb. flee, escape
Qal
1. flee
2. escape
3. take flight, depart, disappear
4. fly (to the attack) on horseback.
Po‛lel the breath of י׳ driveth at it, driveth it on
Hithpo‛l. in order to take flight before the bow
Hiph.
1. put to flight
2. drive hastily to a safe place
3. cause to disappear, hide
H4801
n-m — remoteness, distant, from afar
Derivation: ; from 7368;
remoteness, i.e. (concretely) a distant place; often (adverbially) from afar
KJV: (a-, dwell in, very) far (country, off). See also 1023.
n.m — distant place
מֶרְחָק n.m. distant place, distance
H7291
v — run after, gone by
Derivation: a primitive root;
to run after (usually with hostile intent; figuratively [of time] gone by)
KJV: chase, put to flight, follow (after, on), hunt, (be under) persecute(-ion, -or), pursue(-r).
vb — pursue
רָדַף 141 vb. pursue, chase, persecute
Qal 128
1.
a. pursue
b. lit. put to flight, chase
c. lit., the pursuers
d. chase, hunt
e. pursue
f. fig. persecute, harass
g. pursue, dog
2. fig. follow after, aim to secure
Niph. upon the neck (i.e. closely) we are pursued
Pi. pursue ardently
Pu. it shall be chased away like chaff of the mountains
Hiph. usu. they chased him
H4671
n-m — chaff, pressed, winnowed
Derivation: or מוֹץ; (Zephaniah 2:2), from 4160;
chaff (as pressed out, i.e. winnowed or (rather) threshed loose)
KJV: chaff.
n.m. — chaff
[מוֹץ], מֹץ n.m. Is 29:5 chaff;—מ׳ abs. Ho 13:3 + 6 t.; cstr. Is 17:13;—chaff, always as driven by wind, and alw. c. כְּ, in sim.; of wicked Jb 21:18 (∥ תֶּבֶן לִפְנֵי רוּחַ), cf. ψ 1:4 35:5 Ho 13:3; of hostile nations Is 17:13 (מ׳ הָרִים), 29:5 (∥ אָבָק דַּךְ); hyperb. of Judah's power, גְּבָעוֹת כַּמֹּץ תָּשִׂים Is 41:15 (∥ תָּדוּשׁ הָרִים וְתָדֹק); of passing time, יוֹם Zp 2:2.
H2022
n-m — mountain, range
Derivation: a shortened form of 2042;
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figuratively)
KJV: hill (country), mount(-ain), × promotion.
n.m — mountain
הַר 568 n.m. mountain, hill, hill-country
1. mountain, hill
2. hill-country, mountain-region
H6440
n-m — face, before
Derivation: plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה; from 6437);
the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.)
KJV: accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, propect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.
n.m — face
[פָּנֶה], pl. פָּנִים 2123 n.m. face, also faces
I.
1. face, faces
2.
a. presence, person
b. technically, see one's face, i.e. appear before one, in one's presence
3. face of seraphim
4. face of animals
5. face (= surface) of ground
6. as adv.loc. before
7. for other phrases
II. with prepositions
H7307
n-f — wind, breath, exhalation, life, anger, unsubstantiality, region of the sky, spirit
Derivation: from 7306;
wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
KJV: air, anger, blast, breath, × cool, courage, mind, × quarter, × side, spirit(-ual), tempest, × vain, (whirl-) wind(-y).
n.f — breath
רוּחַ 378 n.f. (less oft. m.) breath, wind, spirit
1. breath of mouth or nostrils (33 t.)
2. wind (117 t.)
3. spirit, as that which breathes quickly in animation or agitation = temper, disposition (76 t.)
4. spirit of the living, breathing being
5. spirit as seat of emotion
6. occasionally (and late) = seat or organ of mental acts
7. rarely of the will
8. רוּחַ esp. of moral character
9. spirit of God (94 t.)
H1534
n-m — wheel, whirlwind, dust, whirled
Derivation: by reduplication from 1556;
a wheel; by analogy, a whirlwind; also dust (as whirled)
KJV: heaven, rolling thing, wheel.
n.m — wheel
גַּלְגַּל n.m. wheel, whirl, whirlwind
H5492
n-f n-pr-loc — hurricane
Derivation: from 5486;
a hurricane
KJV: Red Sea, storm, tempest, whirlwind, Red sea.
n.pr.loc — Suphah
סוּפָה n.pr.loc. E. of Jordan;—only in ancient poet. fragment Nu 21:14; SE. oasis of Dead Sea
n.f — storm-wind
סוּפָה n.f. storm-wind (that makes an end ?)
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Verses 12–14
Isaiah 17:12–14
These verses read the doom of those that spoil and rob the people of God. If the Assyrians and Israelites invade and plunder Judah, if the Assyrian army take God's people captive and lay their country waste, let them know that ruin will be their lot and portion. They are here brought in, 1. Triumphing over the people of God. They relied upon their numbers. The Assyrian army was made up out of divers nations: it was the multitude of many people (Isa 17:12), by which weight they hoped to carry the cause. They were very noisy, like the roaring of the seas; they talked big, hectored, and threatened, to frighten God's people from resisting them, and all their allies from sending in to their aid. Sennacherib and Rabshakeh, in their speeches and letters, made a mighty noise to strike a terror upon Hezekiah and his people; the nations that followed them made a rushing like the rushing of many waters, and those mighty ones, that threaten to bear down all before them and carry away every thing that stands in their way. The floods have lifted up their voice, have lifted up their waves; such is the tumult of the people, and the heathen, when they rage, Psa 2:1; Psa 93:3. 2. Triumphed over by the judgments of God. They thought to carry their point by dint of noise; but woe to them (Isa 17:12), for he shall rebuke them, that is, God shall, one whom they little think of, have no regard to, stand in no awe of; he shall give them a check with an invisible hand, and then they shall flee afar off. Sennacherib, and Rabshakeh, and the remains of their forces, shall run away in a fright, and shall be chased by their own terrors, as the chaff of the mountains which stand bleak before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind, like thistle-down (so the margin); they make themselves as chaff before the wind (Psa 35:5) and then the angel of the Lord (as it follows there), the same angel that slew many of them, shall chase the rest. God will make them like a wheel, or rolling thing, and then persecute them with his tempest and make them afraid with his storm, Psa 83:13, Psa 83:15. Note, God can dispirit the enemies of his church when they are most courageous and confident, and dissipate them when they seem most closely consolidated. This shall be done suddenly (Isa 17:14): At evening-tide they are very troublesome, and threaten trouble to the people of God; but before the morning they are not. At sleeping time they are cast into a deep sleep, Psa 26:5, Psa 26:6. It was in the night that the angel routed the Assyrian army. God can in a moment break the power of his church's enemies, even when it appears most formidable; and this is written for the encouragement of the people of God in all ages, when they find themselves an unequal match for their enemies; for this is the portion of those that spoil us, they shall themselves be spoiled. God will plead his church's cause, and those that meddle do it to their own hurt.
Cross-references: Isa 17:12 · Ps 2:1 · Ps 93:3 · Ps 35:5 · Ps 83:13 · Ps 83:15 · Isa 17:14 · Ps 26:5 · Ps 26:6