'Terror' in the Bible

The fear and the terror of you shall be [instinctive] in every animal of the land and in every bird of the air; and together with everything that moves on the ground, and with all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand.

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

As they journeyed, there was a great [supernatural] terror [sent from God] on the cities around them, and [for that reason] the Canaanites did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Terror and dread fall on them;Because of the greatness of Your arm they are as still as a stone;Until Your people pass by and [into Canaan], O Lord,Until the people pass by whom You have purchased.

I will send My terror ahead of you, and I will throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you [in flight].

I, in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you sudden terror, consumption, and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to languish also. And you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat what you plant.

“The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out against them one way, but flee before them seven ways, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth [when they see your destruction].

Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble in dread before them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.”

‘Outside the sword will bereave,And inside [the chambers] terror—For both young man and virgin,For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.

and she said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the terror and dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted [in despair] because of you.

I sent the hornet [that is, the terror of you] before you, which drove the two kings of the Amorites out before you; but it was not by your sword or by your bow.

He took a team of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [united] as one man [with one purpose].

And there was trembling in the [Philistine] camp, in the field, and among all the people; even the garrison and the raiding party trembled [in fear], and the earth quaked and it became a trembling and terror from God.

Now the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

Therefore the wrath of the Lord has been against Judah and Jerusalem, and He has made them an object of terror, of horror, and of hissing, just as you see with your own eyes.

“Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate].

“For tragedy from God is a terror to me,And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

“Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God],Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

“In Leviathan’s neck resides strength,And dismay and terror dance before him.

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”

For I have heard the slander and whispering of many,Terror is on every side;While they schemed together against me,They plotted to take away my life.

For the Lord Most High is to be feared [and worshiped with awe-inspired reverence and obedience];He is a great King over all the earth.

They saw it, then they were amazed;They were stricken with terror, they fled in alarm.

There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread;For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you;You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].

Therefore He consumed their days like a breath [in emptiness and futility]And their years in sudden terror.

You will not be afraid of the terror of night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,Who reject Your law.

I also will laugh at your disaster;I will mock when your dread and panic come,

Do not be afraid of sudden fearNor of the storm of the wicked when it comes [since you will be blameless];

The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;Whoever provokes him to anger forfeits his own life.

Go among the rocks and hide in the dustFrom the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty.

They [the stricken, deprived of all in which they had trusted] will go into the caves of the rocksAnd into the holes of the ground [fleeing]From the terror and dread of the LordAnd from the splendor of His majesty,When He arises to terrify the earth.

To go into the caverns of the rocks and into the clefts of the [ragged] cliffs [as they flee]From the terror and dread of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty,When He arises to terrify the earth.

At evening time, now look, sudden terror!Before morning the Assyrians are no more.This is the portion (fate) of those who plunder us,And the lot of those who pillage us.

The land of Judah [Assyria’s ally] will become a terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is planning against Egypt.

Terror and pit [of destruction] and snareConfront you, O inhabitant of the earth.

Then it will be that he who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit,And he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the snare;For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.

On this mountain [Zion] the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples [to welcome His reign on earth],A banquet of aged wines—choice pieces [flavored] with marrow,Of refined, aged wines.

“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night,And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

For at the voice of the Lord the Assyrians will be terrified,When He strikes [them] with the rod.

“His rock [his stronghold] will pass away because of panic,And his princes will be terrified at the [sight of the battle] standard,”Declares the Lord, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Your mind will meditate on the terror [asking]:“Where is he who counts?Where is he who weighs [the tribute]?Where is he who counts the towers?”

‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’

“Persist, then, [Babylon] in your enchantmentsAnd your many sorceriesWith which you have labored from your youth;Perhaps you will be able to profit [from them],Perhaps you may prevail and cause trembling.

“You will be firmly established in righteousness:You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,And from terror, for it will not come near you.

“They will not labor in vain,Or bear children for disaster;For they are the descendants of those blessed by the Lord,And their offspring with them.

Do not go out into the fieldNor walk on the road,For the enemy is armed with the sword;Terror is on every side.

We waited for peace and salvation, but no good came,And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

Have You [O Lord] completely rejected Judah?Do You loathe Zion?Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us?We looked for peace and completeness, but nothing good came;And [we hoped] for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

Do not be a terror to me;You are my refuge and my hope in the day of disaster.

And the next day Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib (terror on every side).

For thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; they will fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he will carry them away to Babylon as captives and will slaughter them with the sword.

For I have heard the whispering and defaming words of many,“Terror on every side!Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”All my familiar and trusted friends,[Those who are] watching for my fall, say,“Perhaps he will be persuaded and deceived; then we will overcome him,And take our revenge on him.”

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with virulent disease; and I will make them a terror (warning) to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a horror, a hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them,

“Thus says the Lord,‘We have heard a terrified voiceOf panic and dread, and there is no peace.

You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror;

“Why have I seen it?They are terrifiedAnd have turned back,And their warriors are beaten down.They take flight in hasteWithout looking back;Terror is on every side!”Says the Lord.

“Because of the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of the war-horses [of the Babylonian king],The rattling of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,The fathers have not looked and turned back for their children,So weak are their hands [with terror]

“How it is broken down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a [horrifying] terror to all who are around him.”

“Terror and pit and snare are before you,O inhabitant of Moab,” says the Lord.

“The one who flees from the terrorWill fall into the pit,And the one who gets up out of the pitWill be taken and caught in the trap;For I shall bring upon it, even upon Moab,The year of their punishment,” says the Lord.

“Behold, I am going to bring terror on you,”Says the Lord God of hosts,“From all who are around you;And each of you will be driven out headlong,And there will be no one to gather the fugitives together.

“Damascus has become helpless;She has turned away to flee,Terror (panic) has seized her;Anguish and distress have gripped herLike a woman in childbirth.

“They (the Babylonians) will take away their tents and their flocks;They will carry off for themselvesTheir tent curtains, all their goods and their camels,And they will call out to one another, ‘Terror on every side!’

“A drought on her waters, and they will dry up!For it is a land of [worthless] idols,And they are mad over fearsome idols [those objects of terror in which they foolishly trust].

The king [of Judah] will mourn and the prince (Zedekiah) will be clothed with [garments of] despair and anguish, and the hands of the people of the land shall tremble [in terror]. I will deal with them in accordance with their conduct, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.’”

They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you,‘How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city,From the seas, O renowned city,Which was mighty on the sea,She and her inhabitants,Who imposed her terrorOn all who lived there!

I will bring terrors on you and you will be no more. Though you will be sought, yet you will never be found again,” says the Lord God.

whose graves are set in the remotest parts of the pit and her army is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword, who spread terror in the land of the living.

“Elam [a conquest of Assyria] is there and all her hordes around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who have gone down uncircumcised to the lower parts of the earth, who made their terror spread in the land of the living and bore their shame and defeat with those who went down to the pit.

They have made a bed for her among the slain with all her hordes. Her graves are around it; they are all uncircumcised (barbaric, boorish, crude), slain by the sword (for their terror had been spread in the land of the living), and they bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit; they were laid among the slain.

“Meshech, Tubal, and all their hordes are there; their graves surround them. All of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, for they spread their terror in the land of the living.

Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.

“The princes of the north are there also, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who in spite of the terror resulting from their power, have gone down in shame with the slain. So they lay down uncircumcised with those slain by the sword and bore their disgrace with those who go down to the pit.

“Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” says the Lord God.

The people of Samaria will fear and trembleFor the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness).Indeed, its people will mourn over itAnd its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it,Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.

The chariots race madly in the streets;They rush wildly in the broad plazas.Their appearance is like torches;They rush in various directions like forked lightning.

The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army];He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feetAnd makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my high places [of challenge and responsibility].For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.

In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

He took Peter and James and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled [extremely anguished at the prospect of what was to come].

Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right, wearing a [long, stately] white robe; and they were amazed and bewildered.

For he and all his companions were completely astounded at the catch of fish which they had taken;

Seeing Jesus, he cried out [with a terrible voice from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in dread and terror], and shouted loudly, “What business do we have [in common] with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me [before the appointed time of judgment]!”

Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

There will be violent earthquakes, and in various places famines and [deadly and devastating] pestilences (plagues, epidemics); and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.

And hearing these words, Ananias fell down suddenly and died; and great fear and awe gripped those who heard of it.

And great fear and awe gripped the whole church, and all who heard about these things.

The men who were traveling with him [were terrified and] stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.

This became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified and exalted.

For [civil] authorities are not a source of fear for [people of] good behavior, but for [those who do] evil. Do you want to be unafraid of authority? Do what is good and you will receive approval and commendation.

You believe that God is one; you do well [to believe that]. The demons also believe [that], and shudder and bristle [in awe-filled terror—they have seen His wrath]!

There is no fear in love [dread does not exist]. But perfect (complete, full-grown) love drives out fear, because fear involves [the expectation of divine] punishment, so the one who is afraid [of God’s judgment] is not perfected in love [has not grown into a sufficient understanding of God’s love].

But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear and panic fell on those who were watching them.

And in that [very] hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell and was destroyed; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest [who survived] were overcome with terror, and they glorified the God of heaven [as they recognized His awesome power].

standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’

The merchants who handled these articles, who grew wealthy from [their business with] her, will stand a long way off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,