Yesaya 7:23

7:23 At that time ¹  every place where there had been a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels will be overrun ²  with thorns and briers.

Yesaya 16:10

16:10 Joy and happiness disappear from the orchards,

and in the vineyards no one rejoices or shouts;

no one treads out juice in the wine vats ³  –

I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. ⁴ 

Yeremia 8:13

8:13 I will take away their harvests, ⁵  says the Lord.

There will be no grapes on their vines.

There will be no figs on their fig trees.

Even the leaves on their trees will wither.

The crops that I gave them will be taken away.’” ⁶ 

Hosea 2:12

2:12 I will destroy her vines and fig trees,

about which she said, “These are my wages for prostitution ⁷ 

that my lovers gave to me!”

I will turn her cultivated vines and fig trees ⁸  into an uncultivated thicket,

so that wild animals ⁹  will devour them.

Yoel 1:7

1:7 They ¹⁰  have destroyed our ¹¹  vines; ¹² 

they have turned our ¹³  fig trees into mere splinters.

They have completely stripped off the bark ¹⁴  and thrown them aside;

the ¹⁵  twigs are stripped bare. ¹⁶ 

Yoel 1:12

1:12 The vine has dried up;

the fig tree languishes –

the pomegranate, date, and apple ¹⁷  as well.

In fact, ¹⁸  all the trees of the field have dried up.

Indeed, the joy of the people ¹⁹  has dried up!

Habakuk 3:17

3:17 When ²⁰  the fig tree does not bud,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

when the olive trees do not produce, ²¹ 

and the fields yield no crops; ²² 

when the sheep disappear ²³  from the pen,

and there are no cattle in the stalls,

Zefanya 1:13

1:13 Their wealth will be stolen

and their houses ruined!

They will not live in the houses they have built,

nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.

[7:23]  ¹ tn Heb “in that day.” The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.

[7:23]  ² tn Heb “will become” (so NASB); NAB “shall be turned to.”

[16:10]  ³ tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”

[16:10]  ⁴ sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.

[8:13]  ⁵ tn Or “I will completely destroy them.” The translation which is adopted is based on the revocalization of the MT which appears to mean literally “gathering I will sweep them away,” a rather improbable grammatical combination. It follows the suggestion found in HALOT 705 s.v. סוּף (Hiph) of reading אֹסֵף אֲסִיפָם (’ose, a first singular Qal imperfect of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by a noun אָסִיף [’asif] with possessive suffix) instead of the MT’s אָסֹף אֲסִיפֵם (’aspf ’asifem, a Qal infinitive absolute of אָסַף [’asaf] followed by the Hiphil imperfect of סוּף [suf] plus suffix). For parallel usage of the verb אָסַף (asaf) see BDB 62 s.v. אָסַף Qal.4, and for a similar form of the verb see Mic 4:6. The alternate translation follows the suggestion in BDB 692 s.v. סוּף Hiph: אָסֹף (’asof) is to be interpreted as a form of the Hiphil infinitive absolute (הָסֵף [hasef] would be expected) chosen for assonance with the following form. This suggestion would gain more credence if the MT is to be retained in Zeph 1:2 where parallel forms are found. However, that text too has been questioned on lexical and grammatical grounds. The translation adopted fits the following context better than the alternate one and is based on less questionable lexical and grammatical parallels. The Greek translation which reads “they shall gather their fruits” supports the translation chosen.

[8:13]  ⁶ tn The meaning of this line is very uncertain. A possible alternate translation is: “They have broken the laws that I gave them.” The line reads rather literally “And I gave them they passed over them.” The translation adopted treats the first expression as a noun clause (cf. GKC 488-89 §155.n) which is the subject of the following verb, i.e., “the things I gave them [contextually, the grapes, etc.] passed over from them.” The alternate translation treats the expression as a dangling object (a Hebrew casus pendens) resumed by the pronoun “them” and understands “the things that I gave them” to be the law or some related entity which is often the object of this verb (see BDB 717 s.v. עָבַר Qal.1.i). Neither of these translations is without its weakness. The weakness of the translation which has been adopted is the unusual use it assigns to the object suffix of the verb translated “pass over.” The weakness of the alternate translation is the rather abrupt and opaque introduction of a new topic of reference (i.e., the laws) into the context. On the whole the latter weakness would appear to outweigh the former. This line is missing from the Greek version and J. Bright (Jeremiah [AB]) and J. A. Thompson (Jeremiah [NICOT]) despair of giving a translation. For other possible suggestions see, W. L. Holladay, Jeremiah (Hermeneia), 1:285-86.

[2:12]  ⁷ tn Heb “my wages.” The words “for prostitution” are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied for clarity; cf. CEV “gave…as payment for sex.”

[2:12]  ⁸ tn Heb “I will turn them”; the referents (vines and fig trees) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so KJV, NASB); the same expression also occurs in v. 18).

[1:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it.” Throughout vv. 6-7 the Hebrew uses singular forms to describe the locust swarm, but the translation uses plural forms because several details of the text make more sense in English as if they are describing the appearance and effects of individual locusts.

[1:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “my.”

[1:7]  ¹² tn Both “vines” and “fig trees” are singular in the Hebrew text, but are regarded as collective singulars.

[1:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “my.”

[1:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “it has completely stripped her.”

[1:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “her.”

[1:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “grow white.”

[1:7]  sn Once choice leafy vegetation is no longer available to them, locusts have been known to consume the bark of small tree limbs, leaving them in an exposed and vulnerable condition. It is apparently this whitened condition of limbs that Joel is referring to here.

[1:12]  ¹⁷ tn This Hebrew word וְתַפּוּחַ (vÿtappuakh) probably refers to the apple tree (so most English versions), but other suggestions that scholars have offered include the apricot, citron, or quince.

[1:12]  ¹⁸ tn These words are not in the Hebrew text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.

[1:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “the sons of man.”

[3:17]  ²⁰ tn Or “though.”

[3:17]  ²¹ tn Heb “the produce of the olive disappoints.”

[3:17]  ²² tn Heb “food.”

[3:17]  ²³ tn Or “are cut off.”