And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and [there shall be] a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing [them] to err.
Ver. 28. And his breath as an overflowing stream.] God can blow men to destruction, Job 4:9 for they are but dust heaps; yea, his breath, as an irresistible torrent, beareth all before it. The prophet had compared God's fierce wrath to a raging fire; now he further compareth it here, 1. To a flood; 2. To a fan; 3. To a bridle.
To sift the nations with a sieve of vanity,] i.e., Ad perdendas gentes in nihilum, as the Vulgate here hath it, To destroy the nations, and to bring them to nothing.