There are two Hebrew words behind utterly sweep away, with each using the same three consonants in the same order (אסף). But each word comes from a different verbal root: אסף (gather up; here in the infinitive absolute) and סוף (sweep away; here in the Hiphil imperfect, first person form). Literally, it can be translated, Sweeping away, I will bring to an end. This grammatical structure is extremely rare, occurring elsewhere only at Isaiah 3:16, Isaiah 28:28, Jeremiah 8:13, Jeremiah 42:10, Jeremiah 50:4, and Habakkuk 3:2. Scholars have attempted, by emendation, to force the words to come from the same root. This is not necessary, and betrays a desire to make the prophet prosaic and ordinary rather than skillful and unique.^1,2 For what is rather interesting about this phrase is that the two words, on the surface, mean the opposite of one another. The one verb stands for the gathering of something together; the other verb denotes the scattering away of something.

What is communicated by this imagery of something being simultaneously gathered and scattered? It seems the prophet has in view the gathering for the purpose of scattering away. The Lord will call everything into his presence in order to proclaim his judgment against them, which is, casting them out of his presence forever.