24:17 Terror, pit, and snare
are ready to overtake you inhabitants of the earth! 1
24:18 The one who runs away from the sound of the terror
will fall into the pit; 2
the one who climbs out of the pit,
will be trapped by the snare.
For the floodgates of the heavens 3 are opened up 4
and the foundations of the earth shake.
1 tn Heb “[are] upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.” The first line of v. 17 provides another classic example of Hebrew wordplay. The names of the three instruments of judgment (פָח,פַחַת,פַּחַד [pakhad, fakhat, fakh]) all begin with the letters פח (peh-khet) and the first two end in dental consonants (ת/ד, tet/dalet). Once again the repetition of sound draws attention to the statement and contributes to the theme of the inescapability of judgment. As their similar-sounding names suggest, terror, pit, and snare are allies in destroying the objects of divine wrath.
2 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
3 tn Heb “from the height”; KJV “from on high.”
4 sn The language reflects the account of the Noahic Flood (see Gen 7:11).