Bible Strands
Isaiah 24:17
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet addresses the inhabitants of the earth during a period of widespread treachery and impending divine judgment. The declaration follows the contrast between distant songs of glory and immediate cries of woe.
The words — The Hebrew פַּחַד (Pa.chad) means dread, paired with פַּחַת (pa'hat, pit) and פָּח (pah, snare) to describe inescapable peril.
The thread — This exact triad of terror, pit, and snare reappears in Jeremiah 48:43 as a warning to Moab, while the motif of fleeing danger into further peril echoes in 1 Kings 19:17 and Leviticus 26:21.
Why it lands — The text declares that judgment is unavoidable for those who remain on the earth, demanding recognition that human flight cannot evade divine action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
Cross-references
- Jeremiah 48:43 Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,” declares the LORD.
- Leviticus 26:21 If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.
- 1 Kings 19:17 Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
- Jeremiah 8:3 And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
- Ezekiel 14:21 For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘How much worse will it be when I send against Jerusalem My four dire judgments—sword, famine, wild beasts, and plague—in order to cut off from it both man and beast?
- Amos 5:19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a snake.