I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will send my terror before you, and will confuse all the people to whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
- KJV I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
- NKJV “I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
- NASB I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.
- NLT “I will send my terror ahead of you and create panic among all the people whose lands you invade. I will make all your enemies turn and run.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God would send terror ahead of Israel to confuse their enemies and put them to flight. Victory comes from the fear God instills, not Israel's force.
Overview
The promise of divine 'terror' going before Israel shows that God Himself fights for His people, demoralizing their foes before battle. This recalls how nations melted in fear after the exodus and the Red Sea. The conquest is portrayed as a holy work in which God grants the victory. It assures believers that the Lord can disarm every opposing power, as He has triumphed over sin and death in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Deut 2:25This very day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon all the nations under heaven. They will hear the reports of you and tremble in anguish because of you.”
- Gen 35:5As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons.
- Deut 11:25No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
- Deut 7:23But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.
- Exod 15:14–16The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will grip the dwellers of Philistia.
- Ps 18:40You have made my enemies retreat before me; I put an end to those who hated me.
- 1 Sam 14:15Then terror struck the Philistines in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even those in the outposts and raiding parties trembled. Indeed, the earth quaked and panic spread from God.
- 2 Kgs 7:6For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army, so that they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to attack us.”
- 2 Chr 14:14and attacked all the cities around Gerar, because the terror of the LORD had fallen upon them. They plundered all the cities, since there was much plunder there.
- Deut 11:23then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.
- Josh 2:9–11and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who dwell in the land are melting in fear of you.
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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