Isaiah 17:13

Protection and safety

¹¹ though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.

¹² Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.

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.

¹⁴ In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder 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: 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.
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.
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.
DARBY: The nations rush as the rushing of many waters; but he will rebuke them, and they shall flee far away, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a whirling [of dust] before the whirlwind:
BLB: The peoples—like the rumbling of many waters they are crashing, and He will rebuke them, and they will flee far away, and they will be chased like chaff on the mountains before the face of the wind, and like a wheel of dust before the face of the whirlwind.

ÅB: Ja, det larmer av folkeslag som mange vann larmer; men han truer dem, og de flykter langt bort; de jages avsted som agner for vinden oppe på fjellene og som støvhvirvel for stormen.
OTB: Nasjonene skal bruse som bruset av mange vann, men Han skal irettesette dem, og de skal flykte langt bort, drevet som agner på fjellene for vinden, eller som virvlende støv for en storm.
B1930: Ja, det larmer av folkeslag som mange vann larmer; men han truer dem, og de flyr langt bort; de jages avsted som agner for vinden oppe på fjellene og som støvhvirvel for stormen.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Psalms 9:5
You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.
Read in context
Psalms 1:4
Not so the wicked! For they are like chaff driven off by the wind.
Read in context
Isaiah 41:15–16
Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff.
Read in context
Job 21:18
Are they like straw before the wind, like chaff swept away by a storm?
Read in context
Isaiah 29:5
But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
Read in context
Psalms 46:5–11
God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.
Read in context
Isaiah 25:4–5
For You have been a refuge for the poor, a stronghold for the needy in distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat. For the breath of the ruthless is like rain against a wall,
Read in context
Daniel 2:35
Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Read in context