Yehezkiel 39:10

39:10 They will not need to take ¹  wood from the field or cut down trees from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons. They will take the loot from those who looted them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them, ²  declares the sovereign Lord.

Yesaya 17:14

17:14 In the evening there is sudden terror; ³ 

by morning they vanish. ⁴ 

This is the fate of those who try to plunder us,

the destiny of those who try to loot us! ⁵ 

Yesaya 33:1

The Lord Will Restore Zion

33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, ⁶ 

you who have not been destroyed!

The deceitful one is as good as dead, ⁷ 

the one whom others have not deceived!

When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed;

when you finish ⁸  deceiving, others will deceive you!

Yeremia 30:16

30:16 But ⁹  all who destroyed you will be destroyed.

All your enemies will go into exile.

Those who plundered you will be plundered.

I will cause those who pillaged you to be pillaged. ¹⁰ 

Ratapan 1:8

ח (Khet)

1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin; ¹¹ 

therefore she became an object of scorn. ¹² 

All who admired ¹³  her have despised her ¹⁴ 

because they have seen her nakedness. ¹⁵ 

She groans aloud ¹⁶ 

and turns away in shame. ¹⁷ 

Habakuk 2:8

2:8 Because you robbed many countries, ¹⁸ 

all who are left among the nations ¹⁹  will rob you.

You have shed human blood

and committed violent acts against lands, cities, ²⁰  and those who live in them.

Zefanya 2:8-9

2:8 “I have heard Moab’s taunts

and the Ammonites’ insults.

They ²¹  taunted my people

and verbally harassed those living in Judah. ²² 

2:9 Therefore, as surely as I live,” says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel,

“be certain that Moab will become like Sodom

and the Ammonites like Gomorrah.

They will be overrun by weeds, ²³ 

filled with salt pits, ²⁴ 

and permanently desolate.

Those of my people who are left ²⁵  will plunder their belongings; ²⁶ 

those who are left in Judah ²⁷  will take possession of their land.”

[39:10]  ¹ tn Heb “they will not carry.”

[39:10]  ² tn Heb “loot their looters and plunder their plunderers.”

[17:14]  ³ tn Heb “at the time of evening, look, sudden terror.”

[17:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “before morning he is not.”

[17:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “this is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who loot us.”

[33:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Woe [to] the destroyer.”

[33:1]  sn In this context “the destroyer” appears to refer collectively to the hostile nations (vv. 3-4). Assyria would probably have been primary in the minds of the prophet and his audience.

[33:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “and the deceitful one”; NAB, NIV “O traitor”; NRSV “you treacherous one.” In the parallel structure הוֹי (hoy, “woe [to]”) does double duty.

[33:1]  ⁸ tc The form in the Hebrew text appears to derive from an otherwise unattested verb נָלָה (nalah). The translation follows the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a in reading ככלתך, a Piel infinitival form from the verbal root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning “finish.”

[30:16]  ⁹ tn For the translation of this particle, which is normally translated “therefore” and often introduces an announcement of judgment, compare the usage at Jer 16:14 and the translator’s note there. Here as there it introduces a contrast, a rather unexpected announcement of salvation. For a similar use see also Hos 2:14 (2:16 HT). Recognition of this usage makes the proposed emendation of BHS of לָכֵן כָּל (lakhen kol) to וְכָל (vÿkhol) unnecessary.

[30:16]  ¹⁰ sn With the exception of the second line there is a definite attempt at wordplay in each line to underline the principle of lex talionis on a national and political level. This principle has already been appealed to in the case of the end of Babylonian sovereignty in 25:14; 27:7.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads חֵטְא (khet’, “sin”), but the BHS editors suggest the vocalization חָטֹא (khato’, “sin”), Qal infinitive absolute.

[1:8]  ¹² tn Heb “she has become an object of head-nodding” (לְנִידָה הָיָתָה, lÿniydah hayatah). This reflects the ancient Near Eastern custom of shaking the head in scorn (e.g., Jer 18:16; Ps 44:15 [HT 14]), hence the translation “object of scorn.” There is debate whether נִידָה (nidah) means (1) “object of head-shaking” from נוּד (nud, “to shake,” BDB 626-27 s.v. נוּד); (2) “unclean thing” from נָדַה (nadah, “to be impure”); or (3) “wanderer” from נָדַד (nadad, “to wander,” BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד). The LXX and Rashi connected it to נָדַד (nadad, “to wander”); however, several important early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus) and Syriac translated it as “unclean thing.” The modern English versions are split: (1) “unclean thing” (NASB); “unclean” (NIV); (2) “a mockery” (NRSV).

[1:8]  ¹³ sn The Piel participle of כָּבֵד (kaved) is infrequent and usually translated formulaically as those who honor someone. The feminine nuance may be best represented as “her admirers have despised her.”

[1:8]  ¹⁴ tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).

[1:8]  ¹⁵ sn The expression have seen her nakedness is a common metaphor to describe the plunder and looting of a city by a conquering army, probably drawn on the ignominious and heinous custom of raping the women of a conquered city as well.

[1:8]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh, appearing only in Niphal) means “sigh” (BDB 58 s.v. 1) or “groan” (HALOT 70-71 s.v.) as an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). The word גַּם (gam) is usually a particle meaning “also,” but has been shown from Ugaritic to have the meaning “aloud.” See T. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations, I-II,” Bib 49 (1968): 31-32.

[1:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and turns backward.”

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Or “nations.”

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn Or “peoples.”

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “because of the shed blood of humankind and violence against land, city.” The singular forms אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) and קִרְיָה (qiryah, “city”) are collective, referring to all the lands and cities terrorized by the Babylonians.

[2:8]  ²¹ tn Heb “who.” A new sentence was begun here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:8]  ²² tn Heb “and they made great [their mouth?] against their territory.” Other possible translation options include (1) “they enlarged their own territory” (cf. NEB) and (2) “they bragged about [the size] of their own territory.”

[2:9]  ²³ tn The Hebrew text reads מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל (mimshaq kharul, “[?] of weeds”). The meaning of the first word is unknown. The present translation (“They will be overrun by weeds”) is speculative, based on the general sense of the context. For a defense of “overrun” on linguistic grounds, see R. D. Patterson, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah (WEC), 347. Cf. NEB “a pile of weeds”; NIV “a place of weeds”; NRSV “a land possessed by nettles.”

[2:9]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew text reads וּמִכְרֵה־מֶלַח (umikhreh-melakh, “and a [?] of salt”). The meaning of the first word is unclear, though “pit” (NASB, NIV, NRSV; NKJV “saltpit”), “mine,” and “heap” (cf. NEB “a rotting heap of saltwort”) are all options. The words “filled with” are supplied for clarification.

[2:9]  ²⁵ tn Or “The remnant of my people.”

[2:9]  ²⁶ tn Heb “them.” The actual object of the plundering, “their belongings,” has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:9]  ²⁷ tn Heb “[the] nation.” For clarity the “nation” has been specified as “Judah” in the translation.