Ratapan 2:2-8
Konteksב (Bet)
2:2 The Lord 1 destroyed 2 mercilessly 3
all the homes of Jacob’s descendants. 4
In his anger he tore down
the fortified cities 5 of Daughter Judah.
He knocked to the ground and humiliated
the kingdom and its rulers. 6
ג (Gimel)
2:3 In fierce anger 7 he destroyed 8
the whole army 9 of Israel.
He withdrew his right hand 10
as the enemy attacked. 11
He was like a raging fire in the land of Jacob; 12
it consumed everything around it. 13
ד (Dalet)
2:4 He prepared his bow 14 like an enemy;
his right hand was ready to shoot. 15
Like a foe he killed everyone,
even our strong young men; 16
he has poured out his anger like fire
on the tent 17 of Daughter Zion.
ה (He)
2:5 The Lord, 18 like an enemy,
destroyed 19 Israel.
He destroyed 20 all her palaces;
he ruined her 21 fortified cities.
He made everyone in Daughter Judah
mourn and lament. 22
ו (Vav)
2:6 He destroyed his temple 23 as if it were a vineyard; 24
he destroyed his appointed meeting place.
The Lord has made those in Zion forget
both the festivals and the Sabbaths. 25
In his fierce anger 26 he has spurned 27
both king and priest.
ז (Zayin)
2:7 The Lord 28 rejected 29 his altar
and abhorred his temple. 30
He handed over to the enemy 31
her palace walls;
the enemy 32 shouted 33 in the Lord’s temple
as if it were a feast day. 34
ח (Khet)
2:8 The Lord was determined to tear down
Daughter Zion’s wall.
He prepared to knock it down; 35
he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. 36
He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament;
together they mourned their ruin. 37
[2:2] 1 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the
[2:2] 2 tn Heb “has swallowed up.”
[2:2] 3 tc The Kethib is written לֹא חָמַל (lo’ khamal, “without mercy”), while the Qere reads וְלֹא חָמַל (vÿlo’ khamal, “and he has shown no mercy”). The Kethib is followed by the LXX, while the Qere is reflected in many Hebrew
[2:2] 4 tn Heb “all the dwellings of Jacob.”
[2:2] 5 tn Heb “the strongholds.”
[2:2] 6 tn Heb “He brought down to the ground in disgrace the kingdom and its princes.” The verbs חִלֵּל…הִגִּיע (higgi’…khillel, “he has brought down…he has profaned”) function as a verbal hendiadys, as the absence of the conjunction ו (vav) suggests. The first verb retains its full verbal force, while the second functions adverbially: “he has brought down [direct object] in disgrace.”
[2:3] 7 tc The MT reads אַף (’af, “anger”), while the ancient versions (LXX, Syriac Peshitta, Latin Vulgate) reflect אַפּוֹ (’appo, “His anger”). The MT is the more difficult reading syntactically, while the ancient versions are probably smoothing out the text.
[2:3] 8 tn Heb “cut off, scattered.”
[2:3] 9 tn Heb “every horn of Israel.” 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, 17; Ezek 29:21) (BDB 901 s.v. 2), just as warriors are sometimes figuratively described as “bulls.” Cutting off the “horn” is a figurative expression for destroying warriors (Jer 48:25; Ps 75:10 [HT 11]).
[2:3] 10 tn Heb “he caused his right hand to turn back.” The implication in such contexts is that the
[2:3] 11 tn Heb “from the presence of the enemy.” This figurative expression refers to the approach of the attacking army.
[2:3] 12 tn Heb “he burned in Jacob like a flaming fire.”
[2:3] 13 tn Or “He burned against Jacob, like a raging fire consumes all around.”
[2:4] 14 tn Heb “bent His bow.” When the verb דָּרַךְ (darakh) is used with the noun קֶשֶׁת (qeshet, “archer-bow”), it means “to bend [a bow]” to string it in preparation for shooting arrows (1 Chr 5:18; 8:40; 2 Chr 14:7; Jer 50:14, 29; 51:3). This idiom is used figuratively to describe the assaults of the wicked (Pss 11:2; 37:14) and the judgments of the
[2:4] 15 tn Heb “His right hand is stationed.”
[2:4] 16 tn Heb “the ones who were pleasing to the eye.”
[2:4] 17 tn The singular noun אֹהֶל (’ohel, “tent”) may function as a collective, referring to all tents in Judah. A parallel expression occurs in verse 2 using the plural: “all the dwellings of Jacob” (כָּל־נְאוֹת יַעֲקֹב, kol-nÿ’ot ya’aqov). The singular “tent” matches the image of “Daughter Zion.” On the other hand, the singular “the tent of Daughter Zion” might be a hyperbolic synecdoche of container (= tent) for contents (= inhabitants of Zion).
[2:5] 18 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the
[2:5] 19 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
[2:5] 20 tn Heb “swallowed up.”
[2:5] 21 tn Heb “his.” For consistency this has been translated as “her.”
[2:5] 22 tn Heb “He increased in Daughter Judah mourning and lamentation.”
[2:6] 23 tn Heb “His booth.” The noun שׂךְ (sokh, “booth,” BDB 968 s.v.) is a hapax legomenon (term that appears only once in the Hebrew OT), but it is probably an alternate spelling of the more common noun סֻכָּה (sukkah, “booth”) which is used frequently of temporary shelters and booths (e.g., Neh 8:15) (BDB 697 s.v. סֻכָּה). Related to the verb שָׂכַךְ (sakhakh, “to weave”), it refers to a temporary dwelling constructed of interwoven boughs. This is a figurative description of the temple, as the parallel term מוֹעֲדוֹ (mo’ado, “his tabernacle” or “his appointed meeting place”) makes clear. Jeremiah probably chose this term to emphasize the frailty of the temple, and its ease of destruction. Contrary to the expectation of Jerusalem, it was only a temporary dwelling of the
[2:6] 24 tc The MT reads כַּגַּן (kaggan, “like a garden”). The LXX reads ὡς ἄμπελον (Jw" ampelon) which reflects כְּגֶפֶן (kÿgefen, “like a vineyard”). Internal evidence favors כְּגֶפֶן (kÿgefen) because God’s judgment is often compared to the destruction of a vineyard (e.g., Job 15:33; Isa 34:4; Ezek 15:2, 6). The omission of פ (pe) is easily explained due to the similarity in spelling between כְּגֶפֶן (kÿgefen) and כַּגַּן (kaggan).
[2:6] 25 tn Heb “The
[2:6] 26 tn Heb “In the fury of his anger” (זַעַם־אפּוֹ, za’am-’appo). The genitive noun אפּוֹ (’appo, “his anger”) functions as an attributed genitive with the construct noun זַעַם (za’am, “fury, rage”): “his furious anger.”
[2:6] 27 tn The verb נָאַץ (na’ats, “to spurn, show contempt”) functions as a metonymy of cause (= to spurn king and priests) for effect (= to reject them; cf. CEV). Since spurning is the cause, this may be understood as “to reject with a negative attitude.” However, retaining “spurn” in the translation keeps the term emotionally loaded. The most frequent term for נָאַץ (na’ats) in the LXX (παροξύνω, paroxunw) also conveys emotion beyond a decision to reject.
[2:7] 28 tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the
[2:7] 29 tn The Heb verb זָנַח (zanakh) is a rejection term often used in military contexts. Emphasizing emotion, it may mean “to spurn.” In military contexts it may be rendered “to desert.”
[2:7] 30 tn Heb “His sanctuary.” The term מִקְדָּשׁוֹ (miqdasho, “His sanctuary”) refers to the temple (e.g., 1 Chr 22:19; 2 Chr 36:17; Ps 74:7; Isa 63:18; Ezek 48:21; Dan 8:11) (BDB 874 s.v. מִקְדָּשׁ).
[2:7] 31 tn Heb “He delivered into the hand of the enemy.” The verb הִסְגִּיר (hisgir), Hiphil perfect 3rd person masculine singular from סָגַר (sagar), means “to give into someone’s control: to deliver” (Deut 23:16; Josh 20:5; 1 Sam 23:11, 20; 30:15; Job 16:11; Pss 31:9; 78:48, 50, 62; Lam 2:7; Amos 1:6, 9; Obad 14).
[2:7] 33 tn Heb “they gave voice” (קוֹל נָתְנוּ, kol natno). The verb נָתַן (natan, “to give”) with the noun קוֹל (kol, “voice, sound”) is an idiom meaning: “to utter a sound, make a noise, raise the voice” (e.g., Gen 45:2; Prov 2:3; Jer 4:16; 22:20; 48:34) (HALOT 734 s.v. נתן 12; BDB 679 s.v. נָתַן 1.x). Contextually, this describes the shout of victory by the Babylonians celebrating their conquest of Jerusalem.
[2:7] 34 tn Heb “as on the day of an appointed time.” The term מוֹעֵד (mo’ed, “appointed time”) refers to the religious festivals that were celebrated at appointed times in the Hebrew calendar (BDB 417 s.v. 1.b). In contrast to making festivals neglected (forgotten) in v 6, the enemy had a celebration which was entirely out of place.
[2:8] 35 tn Heb “he stretched out a measuring line.” In Hebrew, this idiom is used (1) literally: to describe a workman’s preparation of measuring and marking stones before cutting them for building (Job 38:5; Jer 31:39; Zech 1:16) and (2) figuratively: to describe the
[2:8] 36 tn Heb “He did not return His hand from swallowing.” That is, he persisted until it was destroyed.
[2:8] 37 tn Heb “they languished together.” The verbs אָבַּלּ (’aval, “to lament”) and אָמַל (’amal, “languish, mourn”) are often used in contexts of funeral laments in secular settings. The Hebrew prophets often use these terms to describe the aftermath of the
