New International Version
Isaiah 24:18
18Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake.
Isaiah 24:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
- English Standard Version (ESV)He who flees at the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare. For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall be That he who flees from the noise of the fear Shall fall into the pit, And he who comes up from the midst of the pit Shall be caught in the snare; For the windows from on high are open, And the foundations of the earth are shaken.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Those who flee in terror will fall into a trap, and those who escape the trap will be caught in a snare. Destruction falls like rain from the heavens; the foundations of the earth shake.
Context of Isaiah 24:18
16From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me! The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!” 17Terror and pit and snare await you, people of the earth. Whoever flees at the sound of terror will fall into a pit; whoever climbs out of the pit will be caught in a snare. The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.
Read all of Isaiah 24Isaiah 24:18 word by word
וְֽ֠הָיָה הַנָּ֞ס מִקּ֤וֹל הַפַּ֙חַד֙ יִפֹּ֣ל אֶל־הַפַּ֔חַת וְהָֽעוֹלֶה֙ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הַפַּ֔חַת יִלָּכֵ֖ד בַּפָּ֑ח כִּֽי־אֲרֻבּ֤וֹת מִמָּרוֹם֙ נִפְתָּ֔חוּ וַֽיִּרְעֲשׁ֖וּ מ֥וֹסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- he who fleethנוּסnûs · to fleeH5127
- from the noiseקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
- of the fearפַּ֫חַדpachad · dreadH6343
- shall fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
- into the pitפַּ֫חַתpachath · pitH6354
- and he that cometh upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- out of the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- shall be takenלָכַדlâkad · to captureH3920
- in the snareפַּחpach · snareH6341
- for the windowsאֲרֻבָּה'ărubbâh · windowH699
- from on highמָרוֹםmârôm · heightH4791
- are openפָּתַחpâthach · to openH6605
- and the foundationsמוֹסָדָהmôsâdâh môsâdâh · foundationH4146
- of the earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- do shakeרָעַשׁrâ‛ash · to shakeH7493
Cross-references for Isaiah 24:18
- Deuteronomy 32:23“I will heap calamities on them and spend my arrows against them.
- Joshua 10:10The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah.
- Job 18:8His feet thrust him into a net; he wanders into its mesh.
- Job 20:24Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him.
- Amos 5:19It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him.
- Genesis 7:11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
- Genesis 19:24Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the Lord out of the heavens.
- 2 Kings 7:2The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” “You will see it with your own eyes,” answered Elisha, “but you will not eat any of it!”
- Deuteronomy 32:22For a fire will be kindled by my wrath, one that burns down to the realm of the dead below. It will devour the earth and its harvests and set afire the foundations of the mountains.
- Psalms 18:7The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry.
- Psalms 46:2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
Commentaries on Isaiah 24:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18Out of the midst of the pit "From the pit" - For מתוך mittoch, from the midst of, a MS. reads מן min, from, as it is in Jeremiah 48:44; and so likewise the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 18From the noise of the fear - A cry or shout was made in hunting, designed to arouse the game, and drive it to the pitfall. The image means here that calamities would be multiplied in all the land, and that if the inhabitants endeavored to avoid one danger they would fall into another. And he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit - A figure taken still from hunting. It was possible that some of the more strong and active of the wild beasts driven into…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-23Verses 16-23 Believers may be driven into the uttermost parts of the earth; but they are singing, not sighing. Here is terror to sinners; the prophet laments the miseries he saw breaking in like a torrent; and the small number of believers. He foresees that sin would abound. The meaning is plain, that evil pursues sinners. Unsteady, uncertain are all these things. Worldly men think to dwell in the earth as in a palace, as in a castle; but it shall be…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 18No one can avoid the day of the Lord (see study note on Isaiah 2:5–22). the windows of heaven are open: This image is similar to the great flood in Noah's time (see study note on Genesis 7:11–12). the foundations of the earth are shaken: An earthquake often marks a theophany, which is a physical sign of God's presence (see also Isaiah 6:4; 13:13; 19:1).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. noise of ... fear--the shout designed to rouse the game and drive it into the pitfall. windows ... open--taken from the account of the deluge (Ge 7:11); the flood-gates. So the final judgments of fire on the apostate world are compared to the deluge (2Pe 3:5-7).Read the comment
Topics related to Isaiah 24:18
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Isaiah 24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries