12 Wo 'to' the multitude of many peoples, As the sounding of seas they sound; And 'to' the wasting of nations, As the wasting of mighty waters they are wasted. 13 Nations as the wasting of many waters are wasted, And He hath pushed against it, And it hath fled afar off, And been pursued as chaff of hills before wind, And as a rolling thing before a hurricane. 14 At even-time, lo, terror, before morning it is not, This 'is' the portion of our spoilers, And the lot of our plunderers!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Isaiah 17:12-14
Commentary on Isaiah 17:12-14
(Read Isaiah 17:12-14)
The rage and force of the Assyrians resembled the mighty waters of the sea; but when the God of Israel should rebuke them, they would flee like chaff, or like a rolling thing, before the whirlwind. In the evening Jerusalem would be in trouble, because of the powerful invader, but before morning his army would be nearly cut off. Happy are those who remember God as their salvation, and rely on his power and grace. The trouble of the believers, and the prosperity of their enemies, will be equally short; while the joy of the former, and the destruction of those that hate and spoil them, shall last for ever.