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Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
Isaiah 24:17 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Fear, the pit, and the snare, are on you who inhabitant the earth.
  • KJV Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
  • NKJV Fear and the pit and the snare Are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth.
  • NASB Terror and pit and snare Confront you, you inhabitant of the earth.
  • NLT Terror and traps and snares will be your lot, you people of the earth.

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

Terror, the pit, and the snare await the earth's inhabitants. There is no escaping the encircling judgment.

Overview

The threefold image of fear, pit, and snare pictures inescapable danger surrounding all who dwell on earth. The Hebrew wordplay heightens the sense of being trapped. The verse warns that none can evade the judgment God has appointed.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 6

  • Jer 48:43–44Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,” declares the LORD.
  • Ezek 14:21For 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?
  • Jer 8:3And wherever I have banished them, the remnant of this evil family will choose death over life,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
  • Amos 5:19It 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.
  • 1 Kgs 19:17Then Jehu will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death whoever escapes the sword of Jehu.
  • Lev 26:21–22If you walk in hostility toward Me and refuse to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times, according to your sins.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Isaiah videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Isaiah 24:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on IsaiahMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Isaiah sees him most clearly: the virgin's son Immanuel, the child on David's throne, the shoot from Jesse, the light to the nations, and above all the Suffering Servant pierced for our transgressions (ch. 53).

How Isaiah 24:17 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.