A-Z: General definitions: Whirlwind

Definition

A biblical image used to describe judgement and calamity. Windstorms could sweep into Israel from the southern or eastern deserts, greatly raising the temperature. The whirlwind was used to describe the calamity of God's judgement against Jerusalem (Isaiah 29:6). Also used to describe God's judgement against his enemies (Proverbs 1:27).

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹Ah, Ariel, Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts run their round. ²Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. ³And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. ⁴And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper. ⁵But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, ⁶you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. ⁷And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. ⁸As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. ⁹Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! ¹⁰For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers). ¹¹And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, Read this, he says, I cannot, for it is sealed. ¹²And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, Read this, he says, I cannot read. ¹³And the Lord said: Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, ¹⁴therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. ¹⁵Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, Who sees us? Who knows us? ¹⁶You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, He did not make me; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, He has no understanding? ¹⁷Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? ¹⁸In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. ¹⁹The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. ²⁰For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off, ²¹who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. ²²Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. ²³For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. ²⁴And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.

¹Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. ²Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. ³And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. ⁴And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust. ⁵Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. ⁶Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. ⁷And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. ⁸It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. ⁹Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. ¹⁰For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. ¹¹And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: ¹²And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. ¹³Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: ¹⁴Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. ¹⁵Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? ¹⁶Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? ¹⁷Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? ¹⁸And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. ¹⁹The meek also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. ²⁰For the terrible one is brought to nought, and the scorner is consumed, and all that watch for iniquity are cut off: ²¹That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought. ²²Therefore thus saith the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob, Jacob shall not now be ashamed, neither shall his face now wax pale. ²³But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel. ²⁴They also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding, and they that murmured shall learn doctrine.

English Standard Version
King James Version

¹The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel: ²To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, ³to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity; ⁴to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth&emdash; ⁵Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, ⁶to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles. ⁷The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. ⁸Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, ⁹for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. ¹⁰My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; ¹²like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; ¹³we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; ¹⁴throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse&emdash; ¹⁵my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, ¹⁶for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. ¹⁷For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird, ¹⁸but these men lie in wait for their own blood; they set an ambush for their own lives. ¹⁹Such are the ways of everyone who is greedy for unjust gain; it takes away the life of its possessors. ²⁰Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; ²¹at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: ²²How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? ²³If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you. ²⁴Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, ²⁵because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, ²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you, ²⁷when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. ²⁸Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me. ²⁹Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, ³⁰would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, ³¹therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. ³²For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them; ³³but whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.

¹The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; ²To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; ³To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; ⁴To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. ⁵A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: ⁶To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. ⁷The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. ⁸My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: ⁹For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck. ¹⁰My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. ¹¹If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: ¹²Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: ¹³We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: ¹⁴Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: ¹⁵My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: ¹⁶For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood. ¹⁷Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird. ¹⁸And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives. ¹⁹So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof. ²⁰Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: ²¹She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, ²²How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? ²³Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. ²⁴Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; ²⁵But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: ²⁶I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; ²⁷When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. ²⁸Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: ²⁹For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: ³⁰They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. ³¹Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. ³²For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. ³³But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

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