2 Raja-raja 19:21

19:21 This is what the Lord says about him: ¹ 

“The virgin daughter Zion ² 

despises you, she makes fun of you;

Daughter Jerusalem

shakes her head after you. ³ 

Yesaya 1:8

1:8 Daughter Zion ⁴  is left isolated,

like a hut in a vineyard,

or a shelter in a cucumber field;

she is a besieged city. ⁵ 

[19:21]  ¹ tn Heb “this is the word which the Lord has spoken about him.”

[19:21]  ² sn Zion (Jerusalem) is pictured here as a young, vulnerable daughter whose purity is being threatened by the would-be Assyrian rapist. The personification hints at the reality which the young girls of the city would face if the Assyrians conquer it.

[19:21]  ³ sn Shaking the head was a mocking gesture of derision.

[1:8]  ⁴ tn Heb “daughter of Zion” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). The genitive is appositional, identifying precisely which daughter is in view. By picturing Zion as a daughter, the prophet emphasizes her helplessness and vulnerability before the enemy.

[1:8]  ⁵ tn Heb “like a city besieged.” Unlike the preceding two comparisons, which are purely metaphorical, this third one identifies the reality of Israel’s condition. In this case the comparative preposition, as in v. 7b, has the force, “in every way like,” indicating that all the earmarks of a siege are visible because that is indeed what is taking place. The verb form in MT is Qal passive participle of נָצַר (natsar, “guard”), but since this verb is not often used of a siege (see BDB 666 s.v. I נָצַר), some prefer to repoint the form as a Niphal participle from II צוּר (tsur, “besiege”). However, the latter is not attested elsewhere in the Niphal (see BDB 848 s.v. II צוּר).