Isaiah 17:13
Translations
King James Version (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.
American King James Version (AKJV)
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.
American Standard Version (ASV)
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
But he will put a stop to them, and make them go in flight far away, driving them like the waste of the grain on the tops of the mountains before the wind, and like the circling dust before the storm.
Webster's Revision
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God will 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.
World English Bible
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.
English Revised Version (ERV)
The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but he shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like the whirling dust before the storm.
Definitions for Isaiah 17:13
Barnes's Isaiah 17:13 Bible Commentary
God shall rebuke them - The word 'God' is not here in the original, but is evidently to be supplied. The word 'rebuke' means that he would disarrange their plans, prevent their success, and defeat their purposes. It shows the great power of God, that he can thus by a "rebuke" - a word - arrest mighty nations, and discomfit thom when they are tumultuously hastening onward in the confidence of victory. This discomfiture refers, doubtless, to the overthrow of Sennacherib and his army by the pestilence (2 Kings 19:35; see the notes at Isaiah 37:36).
And they shall flee far off - The whole army of Sennacherib was not destroyed, but a part with himself returned to Assyria 2 Kings 19:36.
And shall be chased as the chaff ... - Denoting the case with which God would do it, and the certain and entire discomfiture of the army. The figure is one that is very striking in describing an army that is routed, and that flees in disorder (compare Job 21:18; Psalm 1:4; Psalm 35:5; Isaiah 29:5; Hosea 13:3).
And like a rolling thing - Margin, 'Thistle-down.' It means, literally, anything that "rolls" (גלגל galgal, from גלל gâlal, to roll). It is applied to chaff, stubble, or anything that is driven about by a whirlwind Psalm 83:14.