Isaiah 17:12

12 Woe to the many nations that rage— they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar— they roar like the roaring of great waters!

Isaiah 17:12 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
12 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!
English Standard Version (ESV)
12 Ah, the thunder of many peoples; they thunder like the thundering of the sea! Ah, the roar of nations; they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!
New Living Translation (NLT)
12 Listen! The armies of many nations roar like the roaring of the sea. Hear the thunder of the mighty forces as they rush forward like thundering waves.
The Message Bible (MSG)
12 Oh my! Thunder! A thundering herd of people! Thunder like the crashing of ocean waves! Nations roaring, roaring, like the roar of a massive waterfall,
American Standard Version (ASV)
12 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!
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
12 How horrible it will be for many people! They will roar like the roaring sea. The noise that the people make will be like the noise from rushing water.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
12 Ah! The roar of many peoples- they roar like the roaring of the seas. The raging of the nations- they rage like the raging of mighty waters.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
12 How terrible it looks for us! Many nations are marching against us. The noise of their armies is like the sound of the ocean. They are making a lot of noise. It sounds like huge waves crashing on the shore.

Isaiah 17:12 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 17:12

Woe to the multitude of many people
. Not as lamenting the people of the Jews with Hezekiah, as if they were the words of the prophet bemoaning their condition, saying, "O the multitude" nor intending the Syrians and Israelites joined together against Judah; but the Assyrian army under Sennacherib, which consisted of people of many nations, and was very numerous, who are either threatened or called unto. A new subject is here begun, though a short one. [which] make a noise like the noise of the seas;
in a storm, when they foam and rage, and overflow the banks; this may refer both to the noise made by the march of such a vast army, the rattling of their armour and chariot wheels, and prancing of their horses; and to the hectoring, blustering, and blasphemous speeches of Sennacherib and Rabshakeh: and to the rushing of nations,
or "rushing nations", [that] make a rushing like the rushing of mighty, waters;
which denotes the fury and force with which they come, threatening to bear down all before them, as an inundation of water does.

Isaiah 17:12 In-Context

10 You have forgotten God your Savior; you have not remembered the Rock, your fortress. Therefore, though you set out the finest plants and plant imported vines,
11 though on the day you set them out, you make them grow, and on the morning when you plant them, you bring them to bud, yet the harvest will be as nothing in the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Woe to the many nations that rage— they rage like the raging sea! Woe to the peoples who roar— they roar like the roaring of great waters!
13 Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweed before a gale.
14 In the evening, sudden terror! Before the morning, they are gone! This is the portion of those who loot us, the lot of those who plunder us.

Cross References 4

  • 1. ver 13; Isaiah 41:11
  • 2. S Psalms 18:4; Jeremiah 6:23; Luke 21:25
  • 3. S Psalms 46:6; Isaiah 8:9
  • 4. Isaiah 8:7
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