Yeshayah 24:17

17 Pachad (fear), and the pachat (pit), and the pach (pitfall, snare), are upon thee, O inhabitant of Ha’Aretz.

Yeshayah 24:17 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 24:17

Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [are] upon thee, O
inhabitant of the earth.
] This is to be understood not of the land of Judea only, and the inhabitants of it, but of all the earth; Kimchi interprets it of the nations of the world, particularly the Greeks and Turks; but the whole world, and the inhabitants of it, are meant, as the following verses show. There is an elegant play on words in the Hebrew, which cannot well be expressed in English, in the words "pachad, pachath, pach", fear, pit, and a snare; which are expressive of a variety of dangers, difficulties, and distresses; there seems to be an allusion to creatures that are hunted, who flee through fear, and fleeing fall into pits, or are entangled in snares, and so taken. Before the last day, or second coming of Christ to judge the world, there will be great perplexity in men's minds, great dread and fear upon their hearts, and much distress of nations; and the coming of the Son of Man will be as a snare upon the earth; see ( Luke 21:25 Luke 21:26 Luke 21:35 ) .

Yeshayah 24:17 In-Context

15 Therefore glorify ye Hashem in the Urim (east), even the Shem Hashem Elohei Yisroel in the iyyim (islands) [see Isaiah 42:4] of the yam.

16 From the uttermost part of Ha’Aretz have we heard zemirot (songs), even glory to the Tzaddik (Righteous One). But I said, My wasting away, my wasting away, Oy li (woe unto me)! The bogedim (traitors) have dealt treacherously; the bogedim have dealt very treacherously.

17 Pachad (fear), and the pachat (pit), and the pach (pitfall, snare), are upon thee, O inhabitant of Ha’Aretz.

18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the pachad shall fall into the pachat; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pachat shall be caught in the pach; for the arubot (windows [see Gen 7:11]) from on high are opened, and the Mosedei Eretz (foundations of the Earth) do shake.

19 Ha’aretz is violently broken down, Ha’Aretz is completely split open, Eretz is shaken exceedingly.