Yehezkiel 21:12

21:12 Cry out and moan, son of man,

for it is wielded against my people;

against all the princes of Israel.

They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people.

Therefore, strike your thigh. ¹ 

Yesaya 22:4

22:4 So I say:

“Don’t look at me! ² 

I am weeping bitterly.

Don’t try ³  to console me

concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.” ⁴ 

Yeremia 30:6

30:6 Ask yourselves this and consider it carefully: ⁵ 

Have you ever seen a man give birth to a baby?

Why then do I see all these strong men

grabbing their stomachs in pain like ⁶  a woman giving birth?

And why do their faces

turn so deathly pale?

Yehezkiel 9:4

9:4 The Lord said to him, “Go through the city of Jerusalem ⁷  and put a mark ⁸  on the foreheads of the people who moan and groan over all the abominations practiced in it.”

[21:12]  ¹ sn This physical action was part of an expression of grief. Cp. Jer. 31:19.

[22:4]  ² tn Heb “look away from me” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[22:4]  ³ tn Heb “don’t hurry” (so NCV).

[22:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “the daughter of my people.” “Daughter” is here used metaphorically to express the speaker’s emotional attachment to his people, as well as their vulnerability and weakness.

[30:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Ask and see/consider.”

[30:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “with their hands on their loins.” The word rendered “loins” refers to the area between the ribs and the thighs.

[9:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem.”

[9:4]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:4]  ⁸ tn The word translated “mark” is in Hebrew the letter ת (tav). Outside this context the only other occurrence of the word is in Job 31:35. In ancient Hebrew script this letter was written like the letter X.

[9:4]  sn For a similar concept in the Bible, see Rev 7:2-4; 13:16; 14:9, 11; 20:4; 22:4.