The Lord further describes the consequences of Judah’s wickedness and waywardness. Personal rebellion against the Lord is a national disaster. It has made their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever.
The Hebrew word translated as horror
is samma and speaks of something that has become desolate and has become a wasteland.1 This probably refers to the impact that the Lord’s judgment has had on the land, but probably also the effects of the nation’s wayward living. People will view the land with scorn and will scoff at it when they see how is has been ruined. In the Hebrew text, the verse deliberately repeats the s-sound that gives the impression of someone hissing in disapproval.2
16 making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head.