A noise. — i.e., the tumult of an advancing army (Isaiah 13:4; Isaiah 17:12).
A controversy. — The term properly denotes a legal process, like the “pleading” of Jeremiah 2:9; Jeremiah 2:35, rather than a debate or discussion, and is therefore rightly followed by the technical term “will plead” or “judge.” Jehovah appears, so to speak, as the Accuser in the suit in which He is also the supreme Judge.