Yesaya 14:1--16:14
Konteks14:1 The Lord will certainly have compassion on Jacob; 1 he will again choose Israel as his special people 2 and restore 3 them to their land. Resident foreigners will join them and unite with the family 4 of Jacob. 14:2 Nations will take them and bring them back to their own place. Then the family of Jacob will make foreigners their servants as they settle in the Lord’s land. 5 They will make their captors captives and rule over the ones who oppressed them. 14:3 When the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and anxiety, 6 and from the hard labor which you were made to perform, 14:4 you will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: 7
“Look how the oppressor has met his end!
Hostility 8 has ceased!
14:5 The Lord has broken the club of the wicked,
the scepter of rulers.
14:6 It 9 furiously struck down nations
with unceasing blows. 10
It angrily ruled over nations,
oppressing them without restraint. 11
14:7 The whole earth rests and is quiet;
they break into song.
14:8 The evergreens also rejoice over your demise, 12
as do the cedars of Lebanon, singing, 13
‘Since you fell asleep, 14
no woodsman comes up to chop us down!’ 15
14:9 Sheol 16 below is stirred up about you,
ready to meet you when you arrive.
It rouses 17 the spirits of the dead for you,
all the former leaders of the earth; 18
it makes all the former kings of the nations
rise from their thrones. 19
14:10 All of them respond to you, saying:
‘You too have become weak like us!
You have become just like us!
14:11 Your splendor 20 has been brought down to Sheol,
as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. 21
You lie on a bed of maggots,
with a blanket of worms over you. 22
14:12 Look how you have fallen from the sky,
O shining one, son of the dawn! 23
You have been cut down to the ground,
O conqueror 24 of the nations! 25
14:13 You said to yourself, 26
“I will climb up to the sky.
Above the stars of El 27
I will set up my throne.
I will rule on the mountain of assembly
on the remote slopes of Zaphon. 28
14:14 I will climb up to the tops 29 of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High!” 30
14:15 But you were brought down 31 to Sheol,
to the remote slopes of the pit. 32
14:16 Those who see you stare at you,
they look at you carefully, thinking: 33
“Is this the man who shook the earth,
the one who made kingdoms tremble?
14:17 Is this the one who made the world like a desert,
who ruined its 34 cities,
and refused to free his prisoners so they could return home?”’ 35
14:18 36 As for all the kings of the nations,
all of them 37 lie down in splendor, 38
each in his own tomb. 39
14:19 But you have been thrown out of your grave
like a shoot that is thrown away. 40
You lie among 41 the slain,
among those who have been slashed by the sword,
among those headed for 42 the stones of the pit, 43
as if you were a mangled corpse. 44
14:20 You will not be buried with them, 45
because you destroyed your land
and killed your people.
The offspring of the wicked
will never be mentioned again.
14:21 Prepare to execute 46 his sons
for the sins their ancestors have committed. 47
They must not rise up and take possession of the earth,
or fill the surface of the world with cities.” 48
14:22 “I will rise up against them,”
says the Lord who commands armies.
“I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, 49
including the offspring she produces,” 50
says the Lord.
14:23 “I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals 51
and covered with pools of stagnant water.
I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom,” 52
says the Lord who commands armies.
14:24 53 The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow:
“Be sure of this:
Just as I have intended, so it will be;
just as I have planned, it will happen.
14:25 I will break Assyria 54 in my land,
I will trample them 55 underfoot on my hills.
Their yoke will be removed from my people,
the burden will be lifted from their shoulders. 56
14:26 This is the plan I have devised for the whole earth;
my hand is ready to strike all the nations.” 57
14:27 Indeed, 58 the Lord who commands armies has a plan,
and who can possibly frustrate it?
His hand is ready to strike,
and who can possibly stop it? 59
14:28 In the year King Ahaz died, 60 this message was revealed: 61
14:29 Don’t be so happy, all you Philistines,
just because the club that beat you has been broken! 62
For a viper will grow out of the serpent’s root,
and its fruit will be a darting adder. 63
14:30 The poor will graze in my pastures; 64
the needy will rest securely.
But I will kill your root by famine;
it will put to death all your survivors. 65
14:31 Wail, O city gate!
Cry out, O city!
Melt with fear, 66 all you Philistines!
For out of the north comes a cloud of smoke,
and there are no stragglers in its ranks. 67
14:32 How will they respond to the messengers of this nation? 68
Indeed, the Lord has made Zion secure;
the oppressed among his people will find safety in her.
15:1 Here is a message about Moab:
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Ar of Moab is destroyed!
Indeed, in a night it is devastated,
Kir of Moab is destroyed!
15:2 They went up to the temple, 69
the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. 70
Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, 71 Moab wails.
Every head is shaved bare,
every beard is trimmed off. 72
15:3 In their streets they wear sackcloth;
on their roofs and in their town squares
all of them wail,
they fall down weeping.
15:4 The people of 73 Heshbon and Elealeh cry out,
their voices are heard as far away as Jahaz.
For this reason Moab’s soldiers shout in distress;
their courage wavers. 74
15:5 My heart cries out because of Moab’s plight, 75
and for the fugitives 76 stretched out 77 as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah.
For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith;
they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim. 78
15:6 For the waters of Nimrim are gone; 79
the grass is dried up,
the vegetation has disappeared,
and there are no plants.
15:7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,
they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.
15:8 Indeed, the cries of distress echo throughout Moabite territory;
their wailing can be heard in Eglaim and Beer Elim. 80
15:9 Indeed, the waters of Dimon 81 are full of blood!
Indeed, I will heap even more trouble on Dimon. 82
A lion will attack 83 the Moabite fugitives
and the people left in the land.
16:1 Send rams as tribute to the ruler of the land, 84
from Sela in the desert 85
to the hill of Daughter Zion.
16:2 At the fords of the Arnon 86
the Moabite women are like a bird
that flies about when forced from its nest. 87
16:3 “Bring a plan, make a decision! 88
Provide some shade in the middle of the day! 89
Hide the fugitives! Do not betray 90 the one who tries to escape!
16:4 Please let the Moabite fugitives live 91 among you.
Hide them 92 from the destroyer!”
Certainly 93 the one who applies pressure will cease, 94
the destroyer will come to an end,
those who trample will disappear 95 from the earth.
16:5 Then a trustworthy king will be established;
he will rule in a reliable manner,
this one from David’s family. 96
He will be sure to make just decisions
and will be experienced in executing justice. 97
16:6 We have heard about Moab’s pride,
their great arrogance,
their boasting, pride, and excess. 98
But their boastful claims are empty! 99
16:7 So Moab wails over its demise 100 –
they all wail!
Completely devastated, they moan
about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. 101
16:8 For the fields of Heshbon are dried up,
as well as the vines of Sibmah.
The rulers of the nations trample all over its vines,
which reach Jazer and spread to the desert;
their shoots spread out and cross the sea.
16:9 So I weep along with Jazer 102
over the vines of Sibmah.
I will saturate you 103 with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh,
for the conquering invaders shout triumphantly
over your fruit and crops. 104
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 105 –
I have brought the joyful shouts to an end. 106
16:11 So my heart constantly sighs for Moab, like the strumming of a harp, 107
my inner being sighs 108 for Kir Hareseth. 109
16:12 When the Moabites plead with all their might at their high places, 110
and enter their temples to pray, their prayers will be ineffective! 111
16:13 This is the message the Lord previously announced about Moab. 16:14 Now the Lord makes this announcement: “Within exactly three years 112 Moab’s splendor will disappear, along with all her many people; there will be just a few, insignificant survivors left.” 113
[14:1] 1 tn The sentence begins with כִּי (ki), which is understood as asseverative (“certainly”) in the translation. Another option is to translate, “For the Lord will have compassion.” In this case one of the reasons for Babylon’s coming demise (13:22b) is the Lord’s desire to restore his people.
[14:1] 2 tn The words “as his special people” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[14:1] 3 tn Or “settle” (NASB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
[14:2] 5 tn Heb “and the house of Jacob will take possession of them [i.e., the nations], on the land of the Lord, as male servants and female servants.”
[14:3] 6 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[14:4] 7 tn Heb “you will lift up this taunt over the king of Babylon, saying.”
[14:4] 8 tc The word in the Hebrew text (מַדְהֵבָה, madhevah) is unattested elsewhere and of uncertain meaning. Many (following the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa) assume a dalet-resh (ד-ר) confusion and emend the form to מַרְהֵבָה (marhevah, “onslaught”). See HALOT 548 s.v. II *מִדָּה and HALOT 633 s.v. *מַרְהֵבָה.
[14:6] 9 tn Or perhaps, “he” (cf. KJV; NCV “the king of Babylon”). The present translation understands the referent of the pronoun (“it”) to be the “club/scepter” of the preceding line.
[14:6] 10 tn Heb “it was striking down nations in fury [with] a blow without ceasing.” The participle (“striking down”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.
[14:6] 11 tn Heb “it was ruling in anger nations [with] oppression without restraint.” The participle (“ruling”) suggests repeated or continuous action in past time.
[14:8] 12 tn Heb “concerning you.”
[14:8] 13 tn The word “singing” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Note that the personified trees speak in the second half of the verse.
[14:8] 14 tn Heb “lay down” (in death); cf. NAB “laid to rest.”
[14:8] 15 tn Heb “the [wood]cutter does not come up against us.”
[14:9] 16 sn Sheol is the proper name of the subterranean world which was regarded as the land of the dead.
[14:9] 17 tn Heb “arousing.” The form is probably a Polel infinitive absolute, rather than a third masculine singular perfect, for Sheol is grammatically feminine (note “stirred up”). See GKC 466 §145.t.
[14:9] 18 tn Heb “all the rams of the earth.” The animal epithet is used metaphorically here for leaders. See HALOT 903 s.v. *עַתּוּד.
[14:9] 19 tn Heb “lifting from their thrones all the kings of the nations.” הֵקִים (heqim, a Hiphil perfect third masculine singular) should be emended to an infinitive absolute (הָקֵים, haqem). See the note on “rouses” earlier in the verse.
[14:11] 20 tn Or “pride” (NCV, CEV); KJV, NIV, NRSV “pomp.”
[14:11] 21 tn Or “harps” (NAB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:11] 22 tn Heb “under you maggots are spread out, and worms are your cover.”
[14:12] 23 tn The Hebrew text has הֵילֵל בֶּן־שָׁחַר (helel ben-shakhar, “Helel son of Shachar”), which is probably a name for the morning star (Venus) or the crescent moon. See HALOT 245 s.v. הֵילֵל.
[14:12] sn What is the background for the imagery in vv. 12-15? This whole section (vv. 4b-21) is directed to the king of Babylon, who is clearly depicted as a human ruler. Other kings of the earth address him in vv. 9ff., he is called “the man” in v. 16, and, according to vv. 19-20, he possesses a physical body. Nevertheless the language of vv. 12-15 has led some to see a dual referent in the taunt song. These verses, which appear to be spoken by other pagan kings to a pagan king (cf. vv. 9-11), contain several titles and motifs that resemble those of Canaanite mythology, including references to Helel son of Shachar, the stars of El, the mountain of assembly, the recesses of Zaphon, and the divine title Most High. Apparently these verses allude to a mythological story about a minor god (Helel son of Shachar) who tried to take over Zaphon, the mountain of the gods. His attempted coup failed and he was hurled down to the underworld. The king of Babylon is taunted for having similar unrealized delusions of grandeur. Some Christians have seen an allusion to the fall of Satan here, but this seems contextually unwarranted (see J. Martin, “Isaiah,” BKCOT, 1061).
[14:12] 24 tn Some understand the verb to from חָלַשׁ (khalash, “to weaken”), but HALOT 324 s.v. II חלשׁ proposes a homonym here, meaning “to defeat.”
[14:12] 25 sn In this line the taunting kings hint at the literal identity of the king, after likening him to the god Helel and a tree. The verb גָדַע (gada’, “cut down”) is used of chopping down trees in 9:10 and 10:33.
[14:13] 26 tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”
[14:13] 27 sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.
[14:13] 28 sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.
[14:14] 29 tn Heb “the high places.” This word often refers to the high places where pagan worship was conducted, but here it probably refers to the “backs” or tops of the clouds. See HALOT 136 s.v. בָּמָה.
[14:14] 30 sn Normally in the OT the title “Most High” belongs to the God of Israel, but in this context, where the mythological overtones are so strong, it probably refers to the Canaanite high god El.
[14:15] 31 tn The prefixed verb form is taken as a preterite. Note the use of perfects in v. 12 to describe the king’s downfall.
[14:15] 32 tn The Hebrew term בּוּר (bor, “cistern”) is sometimes used metaphorically to refer to the place of the dead or the entrance to the underworld.
[14:16] 33 tn The word “thinking” is supplied in the translation in order to make it clear that the next line records their thoughts as they gaze at him.
[14:17] 34 tc The pronominal suffix is masculine, even though its antecedent appears to be the grammatically feminine noun “world.” Some have suggested that the form עָרָיו (’arayv, plural noun with third masculine singular suffix) should be emended to עָרֶיהָ (’areha, plural noun with third feminine singular suffix). This emendation may be unnecessary in light of other examples of lack of agreement a suffix and its antecedent noun.
[14:17] 35 tn Heb “and his prisoners did not let loose to [their] homes.” This really means, “he did not let loose his prisoners and send them back to their homes.’ On the elliptical style, see GKC 366 §117.o.
[14:18] 36 sn It is unclear where the quotation of the kings, begun in v. 10b, ends. However, the reference to the “kings of the nations” in v. 18 (see also v. 9) seems to indicate that the quotation has ended at this point and that Israel’s direct taunt (cf. vv. 4b-10a) has resumed. In fact the references to the “kings of the nations” may form a stylistic inclusio or frame around the quotation.
[14:18] 37 tc The phrase “all of them” does not appear in the Qumran scroll 1QIsaa.
[14:18] 38 sn This refers to the typically extravagant burial of kings.
[14:18] 39 tn Heb “house” (so KJV, ASV), but in this context a tomb is in view. Note the verb “lie down” in the preceding line and the reference to a “grave” in the next line.
[14:19] 40 tn Heb “like a shoot that is abhorred.” The simile seems a bit odd; apparently it refers to a small shoot that is trimmed from a plant and tossed away. Some prefer to emend נֵצֶר (netser, “shoot”); some propose נֵפֶל (nefel, “miscarriage”). In this case one might paraphrase: “like a horrible-looking fetus that is delivered when a woman miscarries.”
[14:19] 41 tn Heb “are clothed with.”
[14:19] 42 tn Heb “those going down to.”
[14:19] 43 tn בּוֹר (bor) literally means “cistern”; cisterns were constructed from stones. On the metaphorical use of “cistern” for the underworld, see the note at v. 15.
[14:19] 44 tn Heb “like a trampled corpse.” Some take this line with what follows.
[14:20] 45 tn Heb “you will not be united with them in burial” (so NASB).
[14:21] 46 tn Or “the place of slaughter for.”
[14:21] 47 tn Heb “for the sin of their fathers.”
[14:21] 48 sn J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 1:320, n. 10) suggests that the garrison cities of the mighty empire are in view here.
[14:22] 49 tn Heb “I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant” (ASV, NAB, and NRSV all similar).
[14:22] 50 tn Heb “descendant and child.”
[14:23] 51 tn Heb “I will make her into a possession of wild animals.” It is uncertain what type of animal קִפֹּד (qippod) refers to. Some suggest a rodent (cf. NASB, NRSV “hedgehog”), others an owl (cf, NAB, NIV, TEV).
[14:23] 52 tn Heb “I will sweep her away with the broom of destruction.”
[14:24] 53 sn Having announced the downfall of the Chaldean empire, the Lord appends to this prophecy a solemn reminder that the Assyrians, the major Mesopotamian power of Isaiah’s day, would be annihilated, foreshadowing what would subsequently happen to Babylon and the other hostile nations.
[14:25] 54 tn Heb “to break Assyria.”
[14:25] 55 tn Heb “him.” This is a collective singular referring to the nation, or a reference to the king of Assyria who by metonymy stands for the entire nation.
[14:25] 56 tn Heb “and his [i.e., Assyria’s] yoke will be removed from them [the people?], and his [Assyria’s] burden from his [the nation’s?] shoulder will be removed.” There are no antecedents in this oracle for the suffixes in the phrases “from them” and “from his shoulder.” Since the Lord’s land and hills are referred to in the preceding line and the statement seems to echo 10:27, it is likely that God’s people are the referents of the suffixes; the translation uses “my people” to indicate this.
[14:26] 57 tn Heb “and this is the hand that is outstretched over all the nations.”
[14:27] 58 tn Or “For” (KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV).
[14:27] 59 tn Heb “His hand is outstretched and who will turn it back?”
[14:28] 60 sn Perhaps 715
[14:28] 61 tn Heb “this oracle came.”
[14:29] 62 sn The identity of this “club” (also referred to as a “serpent” in the next line) is uncertain. It may refer to an Assyrian king, or to Ahaz. For discussion see J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah (NICOT), 1:331-32. The viper/adder referred to in the second half of the verse is his successor.
[14:29] 63 tn Heb “flying burning one.” The designation “burning one” may allude to the serpent’s appearance or the effect of its poisonous bite. (See the note at 6:2.) The qualifier “flying” probably refers to the serpent’s quick, darting movements, though one might propose a homonym here, meaning “biting.” (See J. N. Oswalt, Isaiah [NICOT], 1:332, n. 18.) Some might think in terms of a mythological flying, fire breathing dragon (cf. NAB “a flying saraph”; CEV “a flying fiery dragon”), but this proposal does not make good sense in 30:6, where the phrase “flying burning one” appears again in a list of desert animals.
[14:30] 64 tc The Hebrew text has, “the firstborn of the poor will graze.” “Firstborn” may be used here in an idiomatic sense to indicate the very poorest of the poor. See BDB 114 s.v. בְּכוֹר. The translation above assumes an emendation of בְּכוֹרֵי (bÿkhorey, “firstborn of”) to בְּכָרַי (bekharay, “in my pastures”).
[14:30] 65 tn Heb “your remnant” (so NAB, NRSV).
[14:31] 66 tn Or “despair” (see HALOT 555 s.v. מוג). The form נָמוֹג (namog) should be taken here as an infinitive absolute functioning as an imperative. See GKC 199-200 §72.v.
[14:31] 67 tn Heb “and there is no one going alone in his appointed places.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. בּוֹדֵד (boded) appears to be a participle from בָּדַד (badad, “be separate”; see BDB 94 s.v. בָּדַד). מוֹעָד (mo’ad) may mean “assembly” or, by extension, “multitude” (see HALOT 558 s.v. *מוֹעָד), but the referent of the third masculine pronominal suffix attached to the noun is unclear. It probably refers to the “nation” mentioned in the next line.
[14:32] 68 sn The question forces the Philistines to consider the dilemma they will face – surrender and oppression, or battle and death.
[15:2] 70 tn Heb “even Dibon [to] the high places to weep.” The verb “went up” does double duty in the parallel structure.
[15:2] 71 tn Heb “over [or “for”] Nebo and over [or “for”] Medeba.”
[15:2] 72 sn Shaving the head and beard were outward signs of mourning and grief.
[15:4] 73 tn The words “the people of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[15:4] 74 tc The Hebrew text has, “For this reason the soldiers of Moab shout, his inner being quivers for him.” To achieve tighter parallelism, some emend the first line, changing חֲלֻצֵי (khalutse, “soldiers”) to חַלְצֵי (khaltse, “loins”) and יָרִיעוּ (yari’u, “they shout,” from רוּעַ, rua’) to יָרְעוּ (yor’u, “they quiver”), a verb from יָרַע (yara’), which also appears in the next line. One can then translate v. 4b as “For this reason the insides of the Moabites quiver, their whole body shakes” (cf. NAB, NRSV).
[15:5] 75 tn Heb “for Moab.” For rhetorical purposes the speaker (the Lord?, see v. 9) plays the role of a mourner.
[15:5] 76 tn The vocalization of the Hebrew text suggests “the bars of her gates,” but the form should be repointed to yield, “her fugitives.” See HALOT 156-57 s.v. בָּרִחַ, and BDB 138 s.v. בָּרִיהַ.
[15:5] 77 tn The words “are stretched out” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[15:5] 78 tn Heb “For the ascent of Luhith, with weeping they go up it; for [on] the road to Horonaim an outcry over shattering they raise up.”
[15:6] 79 tn Heb “are waste places”; cf. NRSV “are a desolation.”
[15:8] 80 tn Heb “to Eglaim [is] her wailing, and [to] Beer Elim [is] her wailing.”
[15:9] 81 tc The Qumran scroll 1QIsaa reads “Dibon” instead of “Dimon” in this verse.
[15:9] 82 tn Heb “Indeed I will place on Dimon added things.” Apparently the Lord is speaking.
[15:9] 83 tn The words “will attack” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[16:1] 84 tc The Hebrew text reads literally, “Send [a plural imperatival form is used] a ram [to] the ruler of the land.” The term כַּר (kar, “ram”) should be emended to the plural כָּרִים (karim). The singular form in the text is probably the result of haplography; note that the next word begins with a mem (מ).
[16:1] 85 tn The Hebrew text has “toward [across?] the desert.”
[16:2] 86 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[16:2] 87 tn Heb “like a bird fleeing, thrust away [from] a nest, the daughters of Moab are [at] the fords of Arnon.”
[16:3] 88 sn It is unclear who is being addressed in this verse. Perhaps the prophet, playing the role of a panic stricken Moabite refugee, requests the leaders of Judah (the imperatives are plural) to take pity on the fugitives.
[16:3] 89 tn Heb “Make your shade like night in the midst of noonday.” “Shade” here symbolizes shelter, while the heat of noonday represents the intense suffering of the Moabites. By comparing the desired shade to night, the speaker visualizes a huge dark shadow cast by a large tree that would provide relief from the sun’s heat.
[16:3] 90 tn Heb “disclose, uncover.”
[16:4] 91 tn That is, “live as resident foreigners.”
[16:4] 92 tn Heb “Be a hiding place for them.”
[16:4] 93 tn The present translation understands כִּי (ki) as asseverative, but one could take it as explanatory (“for,” KJV, NASB) or temporal (“when,” NAB, NRSV). In the latter case, v. 4b would be logically connected to v. 5.
[16:4] 94 tn A perfect verbal form is used here and in the next two lines for rhetorical effect; the demise of the oppressor(s) is described as if it had already occurred.
[16:4] 95 tc The Hebrew text has, “they will be finished, the one who tramples, from the earth.” The plural verb form תַּמּוּ, (tammu, “disappear”) could be emended to agree with the singular subject רֹמֵס (romes, “the one who tramples”) or the participle can be emended to a plural (רֹמֵסִם, romesim) to agree with the verb. The translation assumes the latter. Haplography of mem (ם) seems likely; note that the word after רֹמֵס begins with a mem.
[16:5] 96 tn Heb “and a throne will be established in faithfulness, and he will sit on it in reliability, in the tent of David.”
[16:5] 97 tn Heb “one who judges and seeks justice, and one experienced in fairness.” Many understand מְהִר (mÿhir) to mean “quick, prompt” (see BDB 555 s.v. מָהִיר), but HALOT 552 s.v. מָהִיר offers the meaning “skillful, experienced,” and translates the phrase in v. 5 “zealous for what is right.”
[16:6] 98 tn עֶבְרָה (’evrah) often means “anger, fury,” but here it appears to refer to boastful outbursts or excessive claims. See HALOT 782 s.v. עֶבְרָה.
[16:6] 99 tn Heb “not so his boasting.”
[16:7] 100 tn Heb “So Moab wails for Moab.”
[16:7] 101 tn The Hebrew text has, “for the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth you [masculine plural] moan, surely destroyed.” The “raisin cakes” could have cultic significance (see Hos 3:1), but the next verse focuses on agricultural disaster, so here the raisin cakes are mentioned as an example of the fine foods that are no longer available (see 2 Sam 6:19; Song 2:5) because the vines have been destroyed by the invader (see v. 8). Some prefer to take אֲשִׁישֵׁי (’ashishe, “raisin cakes of”) as “men of” (see HALOT 95 s.v. *אָשִׁישׁ; cf. NIV). The verb form תֶהְגּוּ (tehgu, “you moan”) is probably the result of dittography (note that the preceding word ends in tav [ת]) and should be emended to הגו (a perfect, third plural form), “they moan.”
[16:9] 102 tn Heb “So I weep with the weeping of Jazer.” Once more the speaker (the Lord? – see v. 10b) plays the role of a mourner (see 15:5).
[16:9] 103 tc The form אֲרַיָּוֶךְ (’arayyavekh) should be emended to אֲרַוָּיֶךְ (’aravvayekh; the vav [ו] and yod [י] have been accidentally transposed) from רָוָה (ravah, “be saturated”).
[16:9] 104 tn Heb “for over your fruit and over your harvest shouting has fallen.” The translation assumes that the shouting is that of the conqueror (Jer 51:14). Another possibility is that the shouting is that of the harvesters (see v. 10b, as well as Jer 25:30), in which case one might translate, “for the joyful shouting over the fruit and crops has fallen silent.”
[16:10] 105 tn Heb “wine in the vats the treader does not tread.”
[16:10] 106 sn The Lord appears to be the speaker here. See 15:9.
[16:11] 107 tn Heb “so my intestines sigh for Moab like a harp.” The word מֵעַי (me’ay, “intestines”) is used here of the seat of the emotions. English idiom requires the word “heart.” The point of the comparison to a harp is not entirely clear. Perhaps his sighs of mourning resemble a harp in sound, or his constant sighing is like the repetitive strumming of a harp.
[16:11] 108 tn The verb is supplied in the translation; “sighs” in the preceding line does double duty in the parallel structure.
[16:11] 109 tn Heb “Kir Heres” (so ASV, NRSV, TEV, CEV), a variant name for “Kir Hareseth” (see v. 7).
[16:12] 110 tn The verb that introduces this verse serves as a discourse particle and is untranslated; see note on “in the future” in 2:2.
[16:12] 111 tn Heb “when he appears, when he grows tired, Moab on the high places, and enters his temple to pray, he will not prevail.” It is possible that “when he grows tired” is an explanatory gloss for the preceding “when he appears.”
[16:14] 112 tn Heb “in three years, like the years of a hired worker.” The three years must be reckoned exactly, just as a hired worker would carefully keep track of the time he had agreed to work for an employer in exchange for a predetermined wage.
[16:14] 113 tn Heb “and the splendor of Moab will be disgraced with all the great multitude, and a small little remnant will not be strong.”
