Yeremia 51:37

51:37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins.

Jackals will make their home there. ¹ 

It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn,

a place where no one lives. ² 

Yeremia 51:1

51:1 The Lord says,

“I will cause a destructive wind ³  to blow

against ⁴  Babylon and the people who inhabit Babylonia. ⁵ 

Kisah Para Rasul 9:8

9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ⁶  he could see nothing. ⁷  Leading him by the hand, his companions ⁸  brought him into Damascus.

Kisah Para Rasul 9:2

9:2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues ⁹  in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, ¹⁰  either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners ¹¹  to Jerusalem. ¹² 

Kisah Para Rasul 7:20-21

7:20 At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful ¹³  to God. For ¹⁴  three months he was brought up in his father’s house, 7:21 and when he had been abandoned, ¹⁵  Pharaoh’s daughter adopted ¹⁶  him and brought him up ¹⁷  as her own son.

Ratapan 2:15-16

ס (Samek)

2:15 All who passed by on the road

clapped their hands to mock you. ¹⁸ 

They sneered and shook their heads

at Daughter Jerusalem.

“Ha! Is this the city they called ¹⁹ 

‘The perfection of beauty, ²⁰ 

the source of joy of the whole earth!’?” ²¹ 

פ (Pe)

2:16 All your enemies

gloated over you. ²² 

They sneered and gnashed their teeth;

they said, “We have destroyed ²³  her!

Ha! We have waited a long time for this day.

We have lived to see it!” ²⁴ 

Mikha 6:16

6:16 You implement the regulations of Omri,

and all the practices of Ahab’s dynasty; ²⁵ 

you follow their policies. ²⁶ 

Therefore I will make you an appalling sight, ²⁷ 

the city’s ²⁸  inhabitants will be taunted derisively, ²⁹ 

and nations will mock all of you.” ³⁰ 

Zefanya 2:15

2:15 This is how the once-proud city will end up ³¹  –

the city that was so secure. ³² 

She thought to herself, ³³  “I am unique! No one can compare to me!” ³⁴ 

What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live!

Everyone who passes by her taunts her ³⁵  and shakes his fist. ³⁶ 

[51:37]  ¹ tn Heb “a heap of ruins, a haunt for jackals.” Compare 9:11.

[51:37]  ² tn Heb “without an inhabitant.”

[51:1]  ³ sn The destructive wind is a figurative reference to the “foreign people” who will “winnow” Babylon and drive out all the people (v. 2). This figure has already been used in 4:11-12 and in 49:36. See the study note on 4:11-12 and the translator’s notes on 22:22 and 49:36.

[51:1]  ⁴ tn Or “I will arouse the spirit of hostility of a destroying nation”; Heb “I will stir up against Babylon…a destroying wind [or the spirit of a destroyer].” The word רוּחַ (ruakh) can refer to either a wind (BDB 924 s.v. רוּחַ 2.a) or a spirit (BDB 925 s.v. רוּחַ 2.g). It can be construed as either a noun followed by an adjectival participle (so, “a destroying wind”) or a noun followed by another noun in the “of” relationship (a construct or genitival relationship; so, “spirit of a destroyer”). The same noun with this same verb is translated “stir up the spirit of” in 1 Chr 5:26; 2 Chr 21:16; 36:22; Hag 1:14; and most importantly in Jer 51:11 where it refers to the king of the Medes. However, the majority of the exegetical tradition (all the commentaries consulted and all the English versions except NASB and NIV) opt for the “destructive wind” primarily because of the figure of winnowing that is found in the next verse. The translation follows the main line exegetical tradition here for that same reason.

[51:1]  ⁵ sn Heb “the people who live in Leb-qamai.” “Leb-qamai” is a code name for “Chaldeans” formed on the principle of substituting the last letter of the alphabet for the first, the next to the last for the second, and so on. This same principle is used in referring to Babylon in 25:26 and 51:41 as “Sheshach.” See the study note on 25:26 where further details are given. There is no consensus on why the code name is used because the terms Babylon and Chaldeans (= Babylonians) have appeared regularly in this prophecy or collection of prophecies.

[9:8]  ⁶ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ⁷ sn He could see nothing. This sign of blindness, which was temporary until v. 18, is like the sign of deafness experienced by Zechariah in Luke 1. It allowed some time for Saul (Paul) to reflect on what had happened without distractions.

[9:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:2]  ⁹ sn See the note on synagogue in 6:9.

[9:2]  ¹⁰ sn The expression “the way” in ancient religious literature refers at times to “the whole way of life fr. a moral and spiritual viewpoint” (BDAG 692 s.v. ὁδός 3.c), and it has been so used of Christianity and its teachings in the book of Acts (see also 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). It is a variation of Judaism’s idea of two ways, the true and the false, where “the Way” is the true one (1 En. 91:18; 2 En. 30:15).

[9:2]  ¹¹ tn Grk “bring them bound”; the translation “bring someone as prisoner” for δεδεμένον ἄγειν τινά (dedemenon agein tina) is given by BDAG 221 s.v. δέω 1.b.

[9:2]  ¹² sn From Damascus to Jerusalem was a six-day journey. Christianity had now expanded into Syria.

[9:2]  map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[7:20]  ¹³ tn Or “was well-formed before God,” or “was well-pleasing to God” (BDAG 145 s.v. ἀστεῖος suggests the meaning is more like “well-bred” as far as God was concerned; see Exod 2:2).

[7:20]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “who was brought up for three months.” The continuation of the sentence as a relative clause is awkward in English, so a new sentence was started in the translation by changing the relative pronoun to a regular pronoun (“he”).

[7:21]  ¹⁵ tn Or “exposed” (see v. 19).

[7:21]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “Pharaoh’s daughter took him up for herself.” According to BDAG 64 s.v. ἀναιρέω, “The pap. exx. involve exposed children taken up and reared as slaves…The rendering ‘adopt’ lacks philological precision and can be used only in a loose sense (as NRSV), esp. when Gr-Rom. terminology relating to adoption procedures is taken into account.” In this instance both the immediate context and the OT account (Exod 2:3-10) do support the normal sense of the English word “adopt,” although it should not be understood to refer to a technical, legal event.

[7:21]  ¹⁷ tn Or “and reared him” (BDAG 74 s.v. ἀνατρέφω b).

[2:15]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “clap their hands at you.” Clapping hands at someone was an expression of malicious glee, derision and mockery (Num 24:10; Job 27:23; Lam 2:15).

[2:15]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “of which they said.”

[2:15]  ²⁰ tn Heb “perfection of beauty.” The noun יֹפִי (yofi, “beauty”) functions as a genitive of respect in relation to the preceding construct noun: Jerusalem was perfect in respect to its physical beauty.

[2:15]  ²¹ tn Heb “the joy of all the earth.” This is similar to statements found in Pss 48:2 and 50:2.

[2:16]  ²² tn Heb “they have opened wide their mouth against you.”

[2:16]  ²³ tn Heb “We have swallowed!”

[2:16]  ²⁴ tn Heb “We have attained, we have seen!” The verbs מָצָאנוּ רָאִינוּ (matsa’nu ra’inu) form a verbal hendiadys in which the first retains its full verbal sense and the second functions as an object complement. It forms a Hebrew idiom that means something like, “We have lived to see it!” The three asyndetic 1st person common plural statements in 2:16 (“We waited, we destroyed, we saw!”) are spoken in an impassioned, staccato style reflecting the delight of the conquerors.

[6:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the edicts of Omri are kept, and all the deeds of the house of Ahab.”

[6:16]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and you walk in their plans.”

[6:16]  sn The Omride dynasty, of which Ahab was the most infamous king, had a reputation for implementing unjust and oppressive measures. See 1 Kgs 21.

[6:16]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew term שַׁמָּה (shammah) can refer to “destruction; ruin,” or to the reaction it produces in those who witness the destruction.

[6:16]  ²⁸ tn Heb “her”; the referent (the city) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[6:16]  ²⁹ tn Heb “[an object] of hissing,” which was a way of taunting someone.

[6:16]  ³⁰ tc The translation assumes an emendation of the MT’s עַמִּי (’ammi, “my people”) to עַמִּים (’ammim, “nations”).

[6:16]  tn Heb “and the reproach of my people you will bear.” The second person verb is plural here, in contrast to the singular forms used in vv. 13-15.

[2:15]  ³¹ tn Heb “this is the proud city.”

[2:15]  ³² tn Heb “the one that lived securely.”

[2:15]  ³³ tn Heb “the one who says in her heart.”

[2:15]  ³⁴ tn Heb “I [am], and besides me there is no other.”

[2:15]  ³⁵ tn Heb “hisses”; or “whistles.”

[2:15]  ³⁶ sn Hissing (or whistling) and shaking the fist were apparently ways of taunting a defeated foe or an object of derision in the culture of the time.