Wahyu 6:14

6:14 The sky ¹  was split apart ²  like a scroll being rolled up, ³  and every mountain and island was moved from its place.

Wahyu 20:11

The Great White Throne

20:11 Then ⁴  I saw a large ⁵  white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven ⁶  fled ⁷  from his presence, and no place was found for them.

Yesaya 2:14-17

2:14 for all the tall mountains,

for all the high hills, ⁸ 

2:15 for every high tower,

for every fortified wall,

2:16 for all the large ships, ⁹ 

for all the impressive ¹⁰  ships. ¹¹ 

2:17 Proud men will be humiliated,

arrogant men will be brought low; ¹² 

the Lord alone will be exalted ¹³ 

in that day.

Yeremia 4:23-25

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw ¹⁴  that it was an empty wasteland. ¹⁵ 

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.

All the hills were swaying back and forth!

4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, ¹⁶ 

and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

[6:14]  ¹ tn Or “The heavens were.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) can mean either “heaven” or “sky.”

[6:14]  ² tn BDAG 125 s.v. ἀποχωρίζω states, “ὁ οὐρανὸς ἀπεχωρίσθη the sky was split Rv 6:14.” Although L&N 79.120 gives the meaning “the sky disappeared like a rolled-up scroll” here, a scroll that is rolled up does not “disappear,” and such a translation could be difficult for modern readers to understand.

[6:14]  ³ tn On this term BDAG 317 s.v. ἑλίσσω states, “ὡς βιβλίον ἑλισσόμενον like a scroll that is rolled up…Rv 6:14.”

[20:11]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.

[20:11]  ⁵ tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.

[20:11]  ⁶ tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.

[20:11]  ⁷ tn Or “vanished.”

[20:11]  sn The phrase the earth and the heaven fled from his presence can be understood (1) as visual imagery representing the fear of corruptible matter in the presence of God, but (2) it can also be understood more literally as the dissolution of the universe as we know it in preparation for the appearance of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1).

[2:14]  ⁸ sn The high mountains and hills symbolize the apparent security of proud men, as do the high tower and fortified wall of v. 15.

[2:16]  ⁹ tn Heb “the ships of Tarshish.” This probably refers to large ships either made in or capable of traveling to the distant western port of Tarshish.

[2:16]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “desirable”; NAB, NIV “stately”; NRSV “beautiful.”

[2:16]  ¹¹ tn On the meaning of this word, which appears only here in the Hebrew Bible, see H. R. Cohen, Biblical Hapax Legomena (SBLDS), 41-42.

[2:16]  sn The ships mentioned in this verse were the best of their class, and therefore an apt metaphor for the proud men being denounced in this speech.

[2:17]  ¹² tn Heb “and the pride of men will be brought down, and the arrogance of men will be brought low.” As in v. 11, the repetition of the verbs שָׁפַל (shafal) and שָׁחָח (shakhakh) from v. 9 draws attention to the appropriate nature of the judgment. Those proud men who “bow low” before idols will be forced to “bow low” before God when he judges their sin.

[2:17]  ¹³ tn Or “elevated”; NCV “praised”; CEV “honored.”

[4:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

[4:23]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.

[4:25]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”