3:25

Notice the parallel parts that are similar in meaning. The second line specifies the kind of people who experience disaster/ruin.

25a Do not fear sudden danger

25b or the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

3:25a

Do not fear: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Do not fear :

(1) It is a command. For example:

So don’t be afraid of sudden disasters (Contemporary English Version)

(2) It is a statement of fact. For example:

You won’t be afraid of sudden trouble (New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most versions. The Hebrew negative particle that is used here is the one that is normally used with a command.

sudden danger: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sudden danger is more literally “sudden terror” (New Jerusalem Bible). However, “terror” is often used as a figure of speech (metonymy) that represents the cause of terror: danger. The word danger also makes a better parallel with “ruin” in the second line. A sudden danger is one that is unexpected. The New Century Version provides another way to translate this phrase. It has:

sudden trouble (New Century Version)

3:25b

the ruin that overtakes the wicked: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ruin is literally “storm” (New Revised Standard Version). It probably refers here to any kind of disaster or destruction. It does not refer primarily to a literal storm. The Good News Translation uses a simile to express this figurative meaning. It has:

…sudden disasters, such as come on the wicked like a storm. (Good News Translation)

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