complete verse (Isaiah 17:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 17:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of those countries shall make a lot of noise
    like water from a big river.
    But God shall rebuke (them) so they retreat.
    They shall be wiped away like dust on a mountain
    or like grass that the storm whirls around.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The nations will roar like the sound of flood waters coming,
    at which time God will rebuke them.
    They will run far away.
    and they will be driven out like mountain chaffs blown by the wind or [like] underbrush that is blown by wind and rain.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But even if they are like the big waves that roar, they will-flee if God will-rebuke them. They are like chaff on the mountain which is-blown by the wind, and like straw which is-blown by the whirlwind.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But even though their loud roaring will be like the sound of crashing waves,
    when Yahweh rebukes them, they will run far away.
    They will flee like chaff on the hills scatters when the wind blows,
    like tumbleweeds scatter when a windstorm blows.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 17:13

The nations roar like the roaring of many waters repeats nearly word-for-word the final line of the previous verse. Only one word has changed: many replaces “mighty.” Revised English Bible and New American Bible omit this line, but Hebrew Old Testament Text Project recommends keeping it. This type of repetition is common in Hebrew poetry as a way to heighten the dramatic effect of the words.

But he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away: The usual Hebrew narrative conjunction is translated but to show the contrast between the action of the nations and God’s response. The pronoun he refers to God. Some languages will need to make this clear by saying “God” (so Good News Translation, New American Bible, King James Version). The Hebrew verbs in these two lines may be rendered with the future (so Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version) or present tense (so Good News Translation and most other versions). Rebuke them means to speak strong words to them. In Psa 106.9 the same Hebrew verb is used in a similar way. There it says Yahweh rebuked the Reed Sea (or, Red Sea), and it dried up. Yahweh’s powerful word achieves his purpose. Good News Translation has “reprimands them,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “shouts at them,” and Bible en français courant “threatens them.” Them translates a third person singular pronoun in Hebrew. Here it has a collective sense, referring to the nations and not the waters. Some translations may need to make this explicit. Most translations make it clear through the syntax of the first two lines; for example, New International Version has “Although the peoples roar like the roar of surging waters, when he rebukes them they flee far away.”

They will flee far away is the result of Yahweh’s rebuke. The nations were probably gathering together to attack Judah, but Yahweh’s words send them fleeing away. They renders another singular pronoun in Hebrew, but it has a collective sense as in the previous clause.

Chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind: This imagery is often used to picture divine punishment (for example, 29.5; Psa 83.13). Chaff is the outside skin of kernels of grain. The grain is winnowed to separate it from the chaff; that is, the grain is thrown up into the air, using a basket or tray, allowing the wind to carry the chaff away, leaving behind the heavier grain. So chaff represents something light and of little value. The nations that were gathering to attack are driven away by Yahweh as though they were nothing. Languages that do not have a word for chaff can refer to small pieces of grass or stalks. One language says “dead leaves.” Bible en français courant has “bits of straw.” The phrase on the mountains does not seem to carry any special significance, except maybe that the wind is strongest there, so winnowing is easier.

And whirling dust before the storm adds to the imagery of the previous line. The verb chased serves this line also. The Hebrew noun rendered whirling dust comes from a root describing something that turns, rolls, or spins. Revised English Bible calls it “thistledown,” which is the balls of seeds of thistles (similarly Bible en français courant). New International Version, New American Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh say “tumbleweed,” a kind of dry weed that breaks off in the wind and is bowled along by it. New Revised Standard Version prefers to keep whirling dust. We do not know which meaning is correct, so translators can make their own choice.

Translation suggestions for this verse are:

• The nations roar like the roar of mighty floodwaters,
but God will shout at them and they will flee far away.
They are like chaff driven by the wind in the hills,
like dust devils driven by a storm.

• The roaring of nations is like the roaring of mighty floodwaters!
Yet God will rebuke them and they will run far away.
They will be like dry grass on the hills that the wind blows away,
like tumbleweed that a storm bowls over.

Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .