Ayub 27:22

27:22 It hurls itself against him without pity ¹ 

as he flees headlong from its power.

Yeremia 16:18

16:18 Before I restore them ²  I will punish them in full ³  for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own ⁴  with their detestable idols.” ⁵ 

Ratapan 2:17

ע (Ayin)

2:17 The Lord has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled ⁶  his promise ⁷ 

that he threatened ⁸  long ago: ⁹ 

He has overthrown you without mercy ¹⁰ 

and has enabled the enemy to gloat over you;

he has exalted your adversaries’ power. ¹¹ 

Yehezkiel 7:4

7:4 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹²  you. ¹³  For I will hold you responsible for your behavior, ¹⁴  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. ¹⁵  Then you will know that I am the Lord!

Yehezkiel 7:9

7:9 My eye will not pity you; I will not spare ¹⁶  you. For your behavior I will hold you accountable, ¹⁷  and you will suffer the consequences of your abominable practices. Then you will know that it is I, the Lord, who is striking you. ¹⁸ 

[27:22]  ¹ tn The verb is once again functioning in an adverbial sense. The text has “it hurls itself against him and shows no mercy.”

[16:18]  ² tn Heb “First.” Many English versions and commentaries delete this word because it is missing from the Greek version and is considered a gloss added by a postexilic editor who is said to be responsible also for vv. 14-16. This is not the place to resolve issues of authorship and date. It is the task of the translator to translate the “original” which in this case is the MT supported by the other versions. The word here refers to order in rank or order of events. Compare Gen 38:28; 1 Kgs 18:25. Here allusion is made to the restoration previously mentioned. First in order of events is the punishment of destruction and exile, then restoration.

[16:18]  ³ tn Heb “double.” However, usage in Deut 15:18 and probably Isa 40:2 argues for “full compensation.” This is supported also by usage in a tablet from Alalakh in Syria. See P. C. Craigie, P. H. Kelley, J. F. Drinkard, Jeremiah 1-25 (WBC), 218, for bibliography.

[16:18]  ⁴ tn Heb “my inheritance.”

[16:18]  sn For earlier references to the term used here see Jer 2:7 where it applies as here to the land, Jer 10:16; 12:8-9 where it applies to the people, and Jer 12:7 where it applies to the temple.

[16:18]  ⁵ tn Many of the English versions take “lifeless statues of their detestable idols” with “filled” as a compound object. This follows the Masoretic punctuation but violates usage. The verb “fill” never takes an object preceded by the preposition בְּ (bet).

[2:17]  ⁶ tn The verb בָּצַע (batsa’) has a broad range of meanings: (1) “to cut off, break off,” (2) “to injure” a person, (3) “to gain by violence,” (4) “to finish, complete” and (5) “to accomplish, fulfill” a promise.

[2:17]  ⁷ tn Heb “His word.” When used in collocation with the verb בָּצַע (batsa’, “to fulfill,” see previous tn), the accusative noun אִמְרָה (’imrah) means “promise.”

[2:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “commanded” or “decreed.” If a reference to prophetic oracles is understood, then “decreed” is preferable. If understood as a reference to the warnings in the covenant, then “threatened” is a preferable rendering.

[2:17]  ⁹ tn Heb “from days of old.”

[2:17]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “He has overthrown and has not shown mercy.” The two verbs חָרַס וְלֹא חָמָל (kharas vÿlo’ khamal) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its verbal sense and the second functions adverbially: “He has overthrown you without mercy.” וְלֹא חָמָל (vÿlo’ khamal) alludes to 2:2.

[2:17]  ¹¹ tn Heb “He has exalted the horn of your adversaries.” The term “horn” (קֶרֶן, qeren) normally refers to the horn of a bull, one of the most powerful animals in ancient Israel. This term is often used figuratively as a symbol of strength, usually in reference to the military might of an army (Deut 33:17; 1 Sam 2:1, 10; 2 Sam 22:3; Pss 18:3; 75:11; 89:18, 25; 92:11; 112:9; 1 Chr 25:5; Jer 48:25; Lam 2:3; Ezek 29:21), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” To lift up the horn often means to boast and to lift up someone else’s horn is to give victory or cause to boast.

[7:4]  ¹² tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[7:4]  ¹³ tn The pronoun “you” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[7:4]  ¹⁴ tn “I will set your behavior on your head.”

[7:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “and your abominable practices will be among you.”

[7:9]  ¹⁶ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term is primarily emotional: “to pity,” which in context implies an action, as in being moved by pity in order to spare them from the horror of their punishment.

[7:9]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “According to your behavior I will place on you.”

[7:9]  ¹⁸ tn The MT lacks “you.” It has been added for clarification.