28:5 The Lord his God handed him over to the king of Syria. The Syrians 13 defeated him and deported many captives to Damascus. 14 He was also handed over to the king of Israel, who thoroughly defeated him. 15
1 tn The words “their sin” are not in the Hebrew text, but are supplied for clarification.
2 tn Heb “and act and give to each one according to all his ways because you know his heart.” In the Hebrew text vv. 28-30a actually contain one lengthy conditional sentence, which the translation has divided up for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Heb “Indeed you know, you alone, the heart of all the sons of mankind.”
4 tn Or “soul.”
5 tn Heb “your name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor (thus the translation here, “your honor
6 tn Heb “the word of the
7 tn Heb “and I will give to them soon deliverance.”
8 tn Or “gush forth upon.”
9 tn Heb “by the hand of.”
10 tn Heb “sword.”
11 tn Heb “for your name is in this house.” The “name” of the
12 tn Or “so that you may.”
13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Syrians) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Heb “and took captive from him a great captivity and brought [them] to Damascus.”
15 tn Heb “who struck him down with a great striking.”
16 tn Or “he sacrificed his sons in the fire.” This may refer to child sacrifice, though some interpret it as a less drastic cultic practice (NEB, NASV “made his sons pass through the fire”; NIV “sacrificed his sons in the fire”; NRSV “made his sons pass through fire”). For discussion see M. Cogan and H. Tadmor, II Kings (AB), 266-67.
17 tn Heb “and he set up a ritual pit, along with a conjurer.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. In 1 Sam 28:7 the witch of Endor is called a בַּעֲלַת אוֹב (ba’alat ’ov, “owner of a ritual pit”). See H. Hoffner, “Second Millennium Antecedents to the Hebrew ’OñBù,” JBL 86 (1967): 385-401.
18 tn Heb “and he multiplied doing what is evil in the eyes of the