Isaiah 17:12

¹⁰ Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:

¹¹ In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ And behold at eveningtide trouble; and before the morning he is not. This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us.

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.
KJV: Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!
WEB: Ah, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!
ASV: Ah, the uproar of many peoples, that roar like the roaring of the seas; and the rushing of nations, that rush like the rushing of mighty waters!
DARBY: Ha! a tumult of many peoples! they make a noise as the noise of the seas; and the rushing of nations! they rush as the rushing of mighty waters.
BLB: Woe to the multitude of many peoples—like the roaring of seas they roar! And the rumble of nations—like the rumbling of mighty waters they are crashing!

ÅB: Ve! Det bruser av mange folk! Det bruser som havet. Det larmer av folkeslag! Det larmer som mektige vann larmer.
OTB: Å, larmen fra mange nasjoner, som brøler som havets brøl, og folkets brus som bruser som mektige vann!
B1930: Ve! Det bruser av mange folk! Det bruser som havet. Det larmer av folkeslag! Det larmer som mektige vann larmer.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Luke 21:25
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
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Jeremiah 6:23
They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
Read in context
Psalms 18:4
The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
Read in context
Revelation 17:15
And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Read in context
Ezekiel 43:2
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Read in context
Revelation 17:1
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Read in context
Psalms 46:1–3
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
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Isaiah 5:26–30
And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
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