17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, 1
when he shouts at 2 them, they will flee to a distant land,
driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,
or like dead thistles 3 before a strong gale.
1 tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”
2 tn Or “rebukes.” The verb and related noun are used in theophanies of God’s battle cry which terrifies his enemies. See, for example, Pss 18:15; 76:7; 106:9; Isa 50:2; Nah 1:4, and A. Caquot, TDOT 3:49-53.
3 tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”
4 tn Heb “and I will set a sign among them.” The precise meaning of this statement is unclear. Elsewhere “to set a sign” means “perform a mighty act” (Ps 78:43; Jer 32:20), “make [someone] an object lesson” (Ezek 14:8), and “erect a [literal] standard” (Ps 74:4).
5 tn Some prefer to read “Put” (i.e., Libya).
6 sn That is, Lydia (in Asia Minor).
7 tn Heb “drawers of the bow” (KJV and ASV both similar).
8 sn Javan is generally identified today as Greece (so NIV, NCV, NLT).
9 tn Or “islands” (NIV).