Yeremia 46:7-8

46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,

like its streams ¹  turbulent at flood stage?

46:8 Egypt rises like the Nile,

like its streams turbulent at flood stage.

Egypt says, ‘I will arise and cover the earth.

I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’

Yesaya 8:7-8

8:7 So look, the sovereign master ²  is bringing up against them the turbulent and mighty waters of the Euphrates River ³  – the king of Assyria and all his majestic power. It will reach flood stage and overflow its banks. ⁴  8:8 It will spill into Judah, flooding and engulfing, as it reaches to the necks of its victims. He will spread his wings out over your entire land, ⁵  O Immanuel.” ⁶ 

Yesaya 28:17

28:17 I will make justice the measuring line,

fairness the plumb line;

hail will sweep away the unreliable refuge, ⁷ 

the floodwaters will overwhelm the hiding place.

Yesaya 59:19

59:19 In the west, people respect ⁸  the Lord’s reputation; ⁹ 

in the east they recognize his splendor. ¹⁰ 

For he comes like a rushing ¹¹  stream

driven on by wind sent from the Lord. ¹² 

Daniel 11:22

11:22 Armies ¹³  will be suddenly ¹⁴  swept away in defeat ¹⁵  before him; both they and a covenant leader ¹⁶  will be destroyed. ¹⁷ 

Amos 9:5-6

9:5 The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. ¹⁸ 

He touches the earth and it dissolves; ¹⁹ 

all who live on it mourn.

The whole earth ²⁰  rises like the River Nile, ²¹ 

and then grows calm ²²  like the Nile in Egypt. ²³ 

9:6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace ²⁴  in heaven

and sets its foundation supports ²⁵  on the earth. ²⁶ 

He summons the water of the sea

and pours it out on the earth’s surface.

The Lord is his name.

Nahum 1:8

1:8 But with an overwhelming flood ²⁷ 

he will make a complete end of Nineveh; ²⁸ 

he will drive ²⁹  his enemies into darkness.

Wahyu 12:15-16

12:15 Then ³⁰  the serpent spouted water like a river out of his mouth after the woman in an attempt to ³¹  sweep her away by a flood, 12:16 but ³²  the earth came to her rescue; ³³  the ground opened up ³⁴  and swallowed the river that the dragon had spewed from his mouth.

Wahyu 17:1

The Great Prostitute and the Beast

17:1 Then ³⁵  one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me. ³⁶  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment ³⁷  of the great prostitute who sits on many waters,

Wahyu 17:15

17:15 Then ³⁸  the angel ³⁹  said to me, “The waters you saw (where the prostitute is seated) are peoples, multitudes, ⁴⁰  nations, and languages.

[46:7]  ¹ tn The word translated “streams” here refers to the streams of the Nile (cf. Exod 7:19; 8:1) for parallel usage.

[46:7]  sn The hubris of the Egyptian Pharaoh is referred to in vv. 7-8 as he compares his might to that of the Nile River whose annual flooding was responsible for the fertility of Egypt. A very similar picture of the armies of Assyria overcoming everything in its path is presented in Isa 8:7-8.

[8:7]  ² tn The Hebrew term translated “sovereign master” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “the mighty and abundant waters of the river.” The referent of “the river” here, the Euphrates River, has been specified in the translation for clarity. As the immediately following words indicate, these waters symbolize the Assyrian king and his armies which will, as it were, inundate the land.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “it will go up over all its stream beds and go over all its banks.”

[8:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “and the spreading out of his wings [will be over] the fullness of the breadth of your land.” The metaphor changes here from raging flood to predatory bird.

[8:8]  ⁶ sn The appearance of the name Immanuel (“God is with us”) is ironic at this point, for God is present with his people in judgment. Immanuel is addressed here as if he has already been born and will see the judgment occur. This makes excellent sense if his birth has just been recorded. There are several reasons for considering Immanuel and Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz one and the same. 8:3 is a birth account which could easily be understood as recording the fulfillment of the birth prophecy of 7:14. The presence of a formal record/witnesses (8:1-2) suggests a sign function for the child (cf. 7:14). As in 7:14-16, the removal of Judah’s enemies would take place before the child reached a specified age (cf. 8:4). Both 7:17-25 and 8:7-8 speak of an Assyrian invasion of Judah which would follow the defeat of Israel/Syria. The major objection to this view is the fact that different names appear, but such a phenomenon is not without parallel in the OT (cf. Gen 35:18). The name Immanuel may emphasize the basic fact of God’s presence, while the name Maher focuses on the specific nature of God’s involvement. In 7:14 the mother is viewed as naming the child, while in 8:3 Isaiah is instructed to give the child’s name, but one might again point to Gen 35:18 for a precedent. The sign child’s age appears to be different in 8:4 than in 7:15-16, but 7:15-16 pertains to the judgment on Judah, as well as the defeat of Israel/Syria (cf. vv. 17-25), while 8:4 deals only with the downfall of Israel/Syria. Some argue that the suffixed form “your land” in 8:8 points to a royal referent (a child of Ahaz or the Messiah), but usage elsewhere shows that the phrase does not need to be so restricted. While the suffix can refer to the king of a land (cf. Num 20:17; 21:22; Deut 2:27; Judg 11:17, 19; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 11:22; Isa 14:20), it can also refer to one who is a native of a particular land (cf. Gen 12:1; 32:9; Jonah 1:8). (See also the use of “his land” in Isa 13:14 [where the suffix refers to a native of a land] and 37:7 [where it refers to a king].)

[28:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “[the] refuge, [the] lie.” See v. 15.

[59:19]  ⁸ tc Heb “fear.” A few medieval Hebrew mss read “see.”

[59:19]  ⁹ tn Heb “and they fear from the west the name of the Lord.”

[59:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and from the rising of the sun his splendor.”

[59:19]  ¹¹ tn Heb “narrow”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “pent-up.”

[59:19]  ¹² tn Heb “the wind of the Lord drives it on.” The term רוּחַ (ruakh) could be translated “breath” here (see 30:28).

[11:22]  ¹³ tn Heb “arms.”

[11:22]  ¹⁴ tc The present translation reads הִשָּׁטֹף (hishatof), Niphal infinitive absolute of שָׁטַף (shataf, “to overflow”), for the MT הַשֶּׁטֶף (hashetef, “flood”).

[11:22]  ¹⁵ tn The words “in defeat” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “a prince of the covenant.”

[11:22]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”

[9:5]  ¹⁸ tn The words “will do this” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

[9:5]  ¹⁹ tn Or “melts.” The verb probably depicts earthquakes and landslides. See v. 5b.

[9:5]  ²⁰ tn Heb “all of it.”

[9:5]  ²¹ tn Heb “the Nile.” The word “River” is supplied in the translation for clarity.

[9:5]  ²² tn Or “sinks back down.”

[9:5]  ²³ sn See Amos 8:8, which is very similar to this verse.

[9:6]  ²⁴ tc The MT reads “his steps.” If this is correct, then the reference may be to the steps leading up to the heavenly temple or the throne of God (cf. 1 Kgs 10:19-20). The prefixed מ (mem) may be dittographic (note the preceding word ends in mem). The translation assumes an emendation to עֲלִיָּתוֹ (’aliyyato, “his upper rooms”).

[9:6]  ²⁵ tn Traditionally, “vault” (so ASV, NAB, NRSV). The precise meaning of this word in this context is unclear. Elsewhere it refers to objects grouped or held together. F. I. Andersen and D. N. Freedman (Amos [AB], 845-46) suggest the foundational structure of a building is in view.

[9:6]  ²⁶ sn Verse 6a pictures the entire universe as a divine palace founded on the earth and extending into the heavens.

[1:8]  ²⁷ tn Some scholars connect “in an overwhelming flood” (וּבְשֶׁטֶף עֹבֵר, uvÿshetef ’over) with the preceding line: “he protects those who trust him in an overwhelming flood.” However, others connect it with the following line: “But with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its [Nineveh’s] site.” D. T. Tsumura (“Janus Parallelism in Nah 1:8,” JBL 102 [1983]: 109-11) suggests that it does double duty and should be read with both lines: “he knows those who trust him in an overwhelming flood, / but with an overwhelming flood he will make a complete end of its [Nineveh’s] site.” Connecting it with the preceding line creates a tight parallelism and a balanced 5+5 metrical count. Connecting it with the following line harmonizes with Nah 2:9 [8], which describes the walls of Nineveh being destroyed by flood waters, and with historical evidence (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, 2.27.1-3; Xenophon, Anabasis, 3.4.12) and modern archaeological evidence (A. T. Olmstead, History of Assyria, 637). This might be an example of intentional ambiguity: God will protect his people from the very calamity that he will use to destroy his enemies.

[1:8]  ²⁸ tc Heb “her place.” Alternately, some ancient versions read “his adversaries.” The MT reads מְקוֹמָהּ (mÿqomah, “her place”). This is supported by the Dead Sea Scrolls (מקומה, “her place,” found in 4QpNah) and Symmachus (τῆς τόποῦ αὐτοῦ, th" topou autou, “her place”). The reading of the LXX (τούς ἐπεγειρουμένους, tou" epegeiroumenou", “those who rise up [against Him]”) and Aquila (ἀντισταμενω¡ν, antistamenw>n, “adversaries”) reflect מְקּוֹמיהוּ or מְקִימיהוּ or מְקִּמָיו (“his adversaries”), also reflected in the Vulgate and Targum. Some scholars suggest emending the MT in the light of the LXX to create a tight parallelism between “his adversaries” (מקומיו) and “his enemies” (וְאֹיְבָיו, vÿ’oyÿvayv) which is a parallel word pair elsewhere (Deut 28:7; 2 Sam 22:40-41, 49; Mic 7:6; Ps 59:2). Likewise, Tsumura suggests emending the MT because the text, as it stands, does not have a clear parallel word for “his enemies” (וְאֹיְבָיו) – emending the MT’s מְקוֹמָהּ (“her place”) to מקומיו (“his adversaries”) would result in a parallel word (D. T. Tsumura, “Janus Parallelism in Nah 1:8,” JBL 102 [1983]: 109-11). The BHS editors propose emending the MT in favor of the Greek tradition. The English versions reflect both textual traditions – several follow the MT with “her place” and “its site” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NKJV, NJPS), while others adopt the LXX reading and emend the Hebrew, resulting in “his adversaries” (NRSV) or “those who defy him” (NJB). The MT makes sense as it stands, but the proposed emendation is attractive and involves only the common confusion between ה and יו.

[1:8]  ²⁹ tc The BHS editors propose emending the Masoretic reading יְרַדֶּף (yÿraddef, Piel imperfect of רָדַּף [raddaf], “to chase”) to יֶהְדֹּף (yekhdof, Qal imperfect of הָדַף [hadaf], “to thrust away, drive away”). Although הָדַף is used with חֹשֶׁךְ (khoshekh, “darkness”) in Job 18:18 (“he is driven from light into darkness”), the MT makes good sense as it stands, and is supported by the versions. The conjectural emendation has no support and is unnecessary.

[12:15]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[12:15]  ³¹ tn Grk “so that he might make her swept away.”

[12:16]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present here.

[12:16]  ³³ tn Grk “the earth helped the woman.”

[12:16]  ³⁴ tn Grk “the earth opened its mouth” (a metaphor for the ground splitting open).

[17:1]  ³⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “with me.” The translation “with me” implies that John was engaged in a dialogue with the one speaking to him (e.g., Jesus or an angel) when in reality it was a one-sided conversation, with John doing all the listening. For this reason, μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ (met’ emou, “with me”) was translated as “to me.”

[17:1]  ³⁷ tn Here one Greek term, κρίμα (krima), has been translated by the two English terms “condemnation” and “punishment.” See BDAG 567 s.v. 4.b, “mostly in an unfavorable sense, of the condemnatory verdict and sometimes the subsequent punishment itself 2 Pt 2:3; Jd 4…τὸ κ. τῆς πόρνης the condemnation and punishment of the prostitute Rv 17:1.”

[17:15]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[17:15]  ³⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and multitudes,” but καί (kai) has not been translated here and before the following term since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.