2 Samuel 1:23

1:23 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved ¹  during their lives,

and not even in their deaths were they separated.

They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

Yeremia 4:13

4:13 Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. ² 

The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. ³ 

His horses move more swiftly than eagles.”

I cry out, ⁴  “We are doomed, ⁵  for we will be destroyed!”

Yeremia 48:40

48:40 For the Lord says,

“Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings

a nation will swoop down on Moab. ⁶ 

Yeremia 49:22

49:22 Look! Like an eagle with outspread wings,

a nation will soar up and swoop down on Bozrah.

At that time the soldiers of Edom will be as fearful

as a woman in labor.” ⁷ 

Ratapan 4:19

ק (Qof)

4:19 Those who pursued us were swifter

than eagles ⁸  in the sky. ⁹ 

They chased us over the mountains;

they ambushed us in the wilderness.

Yehezkiel 17:3

17:3 Say to them: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: ¹⁰ 

“‘A great eagle ¹¹  with broad wings, long feathers, ¹² 

with full plumage which was multi-hued, ¹³ 

came to Lebanon ¹⁴  and took the top of the cedar.

[1:23]  ¹ tn Heb “beloved and dear.”

[4:13]  ² tn Heb “he is coming up like clouds.” The words “The enemy” are supplied in the translation to identify the referent and the word “gathering” is supplied to try to convey the significance of the simile, i.e., that of quantity and of an approaching storm.

[4:13]  ³ tn Heb “his chariots [are] like a whirlwind.” The words “roar” and “sound” are supplied in the translation to clarify the significance of the simile.

[4:13]  ⁴ tn The words “I cry out” are not in the text, but the words that follow are obviously not the Lord’s. They are either those of the people or of Jeremiah. Taking them as Jeremiah’s parallels the interjection of Jeremiah’s response in 4:10 which is formally introduced.

[4:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “Woe to us!” The words “woe to” are common in funeral laments and at the beginning of oracles of judgment. In many contexts they carry the connotation of hopelessness or apprehensiveness of inevitable doom.

[48:40]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold! Like an eagle he will swoop and will spread his wings against Moab.” The sentence has been reordered in English to give a better logical flow and the unidentified “he” has been identified as “a nation.” The nation is, of course, Babylon, but it is nowhere identified so the referent has been left ambiguous.

[48:40]  sn Conquering nations are often identified with a swiftly flying eagle swooping down on its victims (cf. Deut 28:49). In this case the eagle is to be identified with the nation (or king) of Babylon (cf. Ezek 17:3, 12 where reference is to the removal of Jehoiachin (Jeconiah) and his replacement with Zedekiah).

[49:22]  ⁷ sn Compare Jer 48:40-41 for a similar prophecy about Moab. The parallelism here suggests that Bozrah, like Teman in v. 20, is a poetic equivalent for Edom.

[4:19]  ⁸ tn The bird referred to here could be one of several species of eagles, but more likely is the griffin-vulture (cf. NEB “vultures”). However, because eagles are more commonly associated with swiftness than vultures in contemporary English, “eagles” was used in the translation.

[4:19]  ⁹ tn Or “in the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[17:3]  ¹⁰ tn The parable assumes the defection of Zedekiah to Egypt and his rejection of Babylonian lordship.

[17:3]  ¹¹ sn The great eagle symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar (17:12).

[17:3]  ¹² tn Hebrew has two words for wings; it is unknown whether they are fully synonymous or whether one term distinguishes a particular part of the wing such as the wing coverts (nearest the shoulder), secondaries (mid-feathers of the wing) or primaries (last and longest section of the wing).

[17:3]  ¹³ tn This term was used in 16:10, 13, and 18 of embroidered cloth.

[17:3]  ¹⁴ sn In the parable Lebanon apparently refers to Jerusalem (17:12).