Isaiah now takes the image of the roaring of the lions and transforms it into the roaring of the sea. Where the image of the lion was of the power of the army, the roaring of the ocean references the vastness and deep power of this avenging army.
The translation from the NIV strengthens Ludlow’s reading of this passage as the evidence of the destructive burnings:
And if one looks at the land,
He will see darkness and distress;
Even the light will be darkened by the clouds.