Yesaya 5:24

5:24 Therefore, as flaming fire ¹  devours straw,

and dry grass disintegrates in the flames,

so their root will rot,

and their flower will blow away like dust. ² 

For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies,

they have spurned the commands ³  of the Holy One of Israel. ⁴ 

Yesaya 17:13

17:13 Though these people make an uproar as loud as the roaring of powerful waves, ⁵ 

when he shouts at ⁶  them, they will flee to a distant land,

driven before the wind like dead weeds on the hills,

or like dead thistles ⁷  before a strong gale.

Yesaya 29:5

29:5 But the horde of invaders will be like fine dust,

the horde of tyrants ⁸  like chaff that is blown away.

It will happen suddenly, in a flash.

Yesaya 40:24

40:24 Indeed, they are barely planted;

yes, they are barely sown;

yes, they barely take root in the earth,

and then he blows on them, causing them to dry up,

and the wind carries them away like straw.

[5:24]  ¹ tn Heb “a tongue of fire” (so NASB), referring to a tongue-shaped flame.

[5:24]  ² sn They are compared to a flowering plant that withers quickly in a hot, arid climate.

[5:24]  ³ tn Heb “the word.”

[5:24]  ⁴ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[17:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “the peoples are in an uproar like the uproar of mighty waters.”

[17:13]  ⁶ 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.

[17:13]  ⁷ tn Or perhaps “tumbleweed” (NAB, NIV, CEV); KJV “like a rolling thing.”

[29:5]  ⁸ tn Or “violent men”; cf. NASB “the ruthless ones.”