like men wielding axes in a thicket of trees
Parallel translations
- WEB They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.
- KJV A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees.
- NKJV They seem like men who lift up Axes among the thick trees.
- NASB It seems like one bringing up His axe into a forest of trees.
- NLT They swung their axes like woodcutters in a forest.
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
The invaders behaved like woodcutters swinging axes through a thicket of trees.
Overview
The carved beauty of the temple was hacked apart as carelessly as men clearing a forest. The simile conveys the brutal, irreverent destruction of what was holy. Such violence against God's house intensifies the cry for God to act in defense of his name.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- 2 Chr 2:14He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
- 1 Kgs 5:6Now therefore, order that cedars of Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, for you know that there are none among us as skilled in logging as the Sidonians.”
- Jer 46:22–23Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 74:5 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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