Ratapan 1:8

ח (Khet)

1:8 Jerusalem committed terrible sin; ¹ 

therefore she became an object of scorn. ² 

All who admired ³  her have despised her ⁴ 

because they have seen her nakedness. ⁵ 

She groans aloud ⁶ 

and turns away in shame. ⁷ 

Ratapan 1:18

Jerusalem Speaks:

צ (Tsade)

1:18 The Lord is right to judge me! ⁸ 

Yes, I rebelled against his commands. ⁹ 

Please listen, all you nations, ¹⁰ 

and look at my suffering!

My young women and men

have gone into exile.

Ratapan 2:1

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

2:1 Alas! ¹¹  The Lord ¹²  has covered

Daughter Zion ¹³  with his anger. ¹⁴ 

He has thrown down the splendor of Israel

from heaven to earth;

he did not protect ¹⁵  his temple ¹⁶ 

when he displayed his anger. ¹⁷ 

Ratapan 4:13

מ (Mem)

4:13 But it happened ¹⁸  due to the sins of her prophets ¹⁹ 

and the iniquities of her priests,

who poured out in her midst

the blood of the righteous.

Amsal 14:34

14:34 Righteousness exalts ²⁰  a nation,

but sin is a disgrace ²¹  to any people.

Yesaya 3:9-11

3:9 The look on their faces ²²  testifies to their guilt; ²³ 

like the people of Sodom they openly boast of their sin. ²⁴ 

Too bad for them! ²⁵ 

For they bring disaster on themselves.

3:10 Tell the innocent ²⁶  it will go well with them, ²⁷ 

for they will be rewarded for what they have done. ²⁸ 

3:11 Too bad for the wicked sinners!

For they will get exactly what they deserve. ²⁹ 

Yeremia 2:17

2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, ³⁰ 

by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path. ³¹ 

Yeremia 2:19

2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.

Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you. ³² 

Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful ³³ 

it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God, ³⁴ 

to show no respect for me,” ³⁵ 

says the Lord God who rules over all. ³⁶ 

Yeremia 4:18

4:18 “The way you have lived and the things you have done ³⁷ 

will bring this on you.

This is the punishment you deserve, and it will be painful indeed. ³⁸ 

The pain will be so bad it will pierce your heart.” ³⁹ 

Yehezkiel 7:17-22

7:17 All of their hands will hang limp; their knees will be wet with urine. ⁴⁰  7:18 They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. ⁴¹  7:19 They will discard their silver in the streets, and their gold will be treated like filth. ⁴²  Their silver and gold will not be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s fury. ⁴³  They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs because their wealth ⁴⁴  was the obstacle leading to their iniquity. ⁴⁵  7:20 They rendered the beauty of his ornaments into pride, ⁴⁶  and with it they made their abominable images – their detestable idols. Therefore I will render it filthy to them. 7:21 I will give it to foreigners as loot, to the world’s wicked ones as plunder, and they will desecrate it. 7:22 I will turn my face away from them and they will desecrate my treasured place. ⁴⁷  Vandals will enter it and desecrate it. ⁴⁸ 

Yehezkiel 22:12-16

22:12 They take bribes within you to shed blood. You engage in usury and charge interest; ⁴⁹  you extort money from your neighbors. You have forgotten me, ⁵⁰  declares the sovereign Lord. ⁵¹ 

22:13 “‘See, I strike my hands together ⁵²  at the dishonest profit you have made, and at the bloodshed ⁵³  they have done among you. 22:14 Can your heart endure, ⁵⁴  or can your hands be strong when I deal with you? ⁵⁵  I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it! 22:15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you among various countries; I will remove your impurity from you. ⁵⁶  22:16 You will be profaned within yourself ⁵⁷  in the sight of the nations; then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Yehezkiel 22:2

22:2 “As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, ⁵⁸  are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? ⁵⁹  Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

Pengkhotbah 2:4-6

Futility of Materialism

2:4 I increased my possessions: ⁶⁰ 

I built houses for myself; ⁶¹ 

I planted vineyards for myself.

2:5 I designed ⁶²  royal gardens ⁶³  and parks ⁶⁴  for myself,

and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.

2:6 I constructed pools of water for myself,

to irrigate my grove ⁶⁵  of flourishing trees.

[1:8]  ¹ tc The MT reads חֵטְא (khet’, “sin”), but the BHS editors suggest the vocalization חָטֹא (khato’, “sin”), Qal infinitive absolute.

[1:8]  ² tn Heb “she has become an object of head-nodding” (לְנִידָה הָיָתָה, lÿniydah hayatah). This reflects the ancient Near Eastern custom of shaking the head in scorn (e.g., Jer 18:16; Ps 44:15 [HT 14]), hence the translation “object of scorn.” There is debate whether נִידָה (nidah) means (1) “object of head-shaking” from נוּד (nud, “to shake,” BDB 626-27 s.v. נוּד); (2) “unclean thing” from נָדַה (nadah, “to be impure”); or (3) “wanderer” from נָדַד (nadad, “to wander,” BDB 622 s.v. I נָדַד). The LXX and Rashi connected it to נָדַד (nadad, “to wander”); however, several important early Greek recensions (Aquila and Symmachus) and Syriac translated it as “unclean thing.” The modern English versions are split: (1) “unclean thing” (NASB); “unclean” (NIV); (2) “a mockery” (NRSV).

[1:8]  ³ sn The Piel participle of כָּבֵד (kaved) is infrequent and usually translated formulaically as those who honor someone. The feminine nuance may be best represented as “her admirers have despised her.”

[1:8]  ⁴ tn The verb הִזִּילוּהָ (hizziluha) is generally understood as a rare form of Hiphil perfect 3rd person common plural + 3rd person feminine singular suffix from I זָלַל (zalal, “to despise”): “they despise her.” This follows the I nun (ן) pattern with daghesh (dot) in zayin (ז) rather than the expected geminate pattern הִזִילּוּהָ (hizilluha) with daghesh in lamed (ל) (GKC 178-79 §67.l).

[1:8]  ⁵ sn The expression have seen her nakedness is a common metaphor to describe the plunder and looting of a city by a conquering army, probably drawn on the ignominious and heinous custom of raping the women of a conquered city as well.

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “groan” or “sigh.” The verb אָנַח (’anakh, appearing only in Niphal) means “sigh” (BDB 58 s.v. 1) or “groan” (HALOT 70-71 s.v.) as an expression of grief (Prov 29:2; Isa 24:7; Lam 1:4, 8; Ezek 9:4; 21:11). The word גַּם (gam) is usually a particle meaning “also,” but has been shown from Ugaritic to have the meaning “aloud.” See T. McDaniel, “Philological Studies in Lamentations, I-II,” Bib 49 (1968): 31-32.

[1:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “and turns backward.”

[1:18]  ⁸ tn Heb “The Lord himself is right.” The phrase “to judge me” is not in the Hebrew, but is added in the translation to clarify the expression.

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “His mouth.” The term “mouth” (פֶּה, peh) is a metonymy of instrument (= mouth) for the product (= words). The term פֶּה (peh) often stands for spoken words (Ps 49:14; Eccl 10:3; Isa 29:13), declaration (Gen 41:40; Exod 38:21; Num 35:30; Deut 17:6; Ezra 1:1) and commands of God (Exod 17:1; Num 14:41; 22:18; Josh 15:13; 1 Sam 15:24; 1 Chr 12:24; Prov 8:29; Isa 34:16; 62:2). When the verb מָרָה (marah, “to rebel”) is used with the accusative direct object פֶּה (peh, “mouth”) to connote disobedience to God’s commandments (Num 20:24; 1 Sam 12:14, 15; 1 Kgs 13:21) (BDB 805 s.v. פֶּה 2.c).

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tc The Kethib is written עַמִּים (’ammim, “peoples”), but the Qere, followed by many medieval Hebrew mss and the ancient versions (LXX and Aramaic Targum), read הָעַמִּים (ha’ammim, “O peoples”). The Qere is probably the original reading.

[1:18]  tn Heb “O peoples.” Here Jerusalem addresses the peoples of the surrounding nations (note the use of “neighbors” in the preceding verse).

[2:1]  ¹¹ tn See the note at 1:1.

[2:1]  ¹² tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:1]  ¹³ sn Chapter 2 continues the use of feminine epithets (e.g., “Daughter Zion”), although initially portraying Jerusalem as an object destroyed by the angered enemy, God.

[2:1]  ¹⁴ tn The verb יָעִיב (ya’iv) is a hapax legomenon (a term that appears only once in Hebrew OT). Most lexicons take it as a denominative verb from the noun עָב (’av, “cloud,” HALOT 773 s.v. II עָב; BDB 728 s.v. עוּב): Hiphil imperfect 3rd person masculine singular from עוֹב (’ov) meaning “cover with a cloud, make dark” (HALOT 794 s.v. עוב) or “becloud” (BDB 728 s.v.): “the Lord has covered Daughter Zion with the cloud of His anger.” This approach is followed by many English versions (KJV, RSV, NASB, NIV). However, a few scholars relate it to a cognate Arabic verb “to blame, revile” (Ehrlich, Rudolph, Hillers): “the Lord has shamed Daughter Zion in His anger.” Several English versions adopt this (NRSV, NJPS, CEV). The picture of cloud and wrath concurs with the stanza’s connection to “day of the Lord” imagery.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn The common gloss for זָכַר (zakhar) is “remember.” זָכַר (zakhar) entails “bearing something in mind” in a broader sense than the English gloss “remember.” When God “bears someone in mind,” the consequences are beneficial for them. The implication of not regarding his footstool is to not esteem and so not care for or protect it.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the footstool of His feet.” The noun הֲדֹם (hadom, “footstool”), always joined with רַגְלַיִם (raglayim, “feet”) is always used figuratively in reference to the dwelling place of God (BDB 213 s.v. הֲדֹם). It usually refers to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem (Isa 60:13; Lam 2:1) or to the ark as the place above which the Lord is enthroned (Pss 99:5; 132:7; 1 Chr 28:2).

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “in the day of His anger.” As a temporal reference this phrase means “when he displayed his anger.” The Hebrew term “day,” associated with the “day of the Lord” or “day of his wrath” also functions as a title in a technical sense.

[4:13]  ¹⁸ tn These words do not appear in the Hebrew, but are supplied to make sense of the line. The introductory causal preposition מִן (min) (“because”) indicates that this phrase – or something like it – is implied through elision.

[4:13]  ¹⁹ tn There is no main verb in the verse; it is an extended prepositional phrase. One must either assume a verbal idea such as “But it happened due to…” or connect it to the following verses, which themselves are quite difficult. The former option was employed in the present translation.

[14:34]  ²⁰ sn The verb תְּרוֹמֵם (tÿromem, translated “exalts”) is a Polel imperfect; it means “to lift up; to raise up; to elevate.” Here the upright dealings of the leaders and the people will lift up the people. The people’s condition in that nation will be raised.

[14:34]  ²¹ tn The term is the homonymic root II חֶסֶד (khesed, “shame; reproach”; BDB 340 s.v.), as reflected by the LXX translation. Rabbinic exegesis generally took it as I חֶסֶד (“loyal love; kindness”) as if it said, “even the kindness of some nations is a sin because they do it only for a show” (so Rashi, a Jewish scholar who lived a.d. 1040-1105).

[3:9]  ²² sn This refers to their proud, arrogant demeanor.

[3:9]  ²³ tn Heb “answers against them”; NRSV “bears witness against them.”

[3:9]  ²⁴ tn Heb “their sin, like Sodom, they declare, they do not conceal [it].”

[3:9]  ²⁵ tn Heb “woe to their soul.”

[3:10]  ²⁶ tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”

[3:10]  ²⁷ tn Heb “that it is good.”

[3:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”

[3:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “for the work of his hands will be done to him.”

[2:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Are you not bringing this on yourself.” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[2:17]  ³¹ tn Heb “at the time of leading you in the way.”

[2:19]  ³² tn Or “teach you a lesson”; Heb “rebuke/chide you.”

[2:19]  ³³ tn Heb “how evil and bitter.” The reference is to the consequences of their acts. This is a figure of speech (hendiadys) where two nouns or adjectives joined by “and” introduce a main concept modified by the other noun or adjective.

[2:19]  ³⁴ tn Heb “to leave the Lord your God.” The change in person is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, which is common in Hebrew style but not in English, from third to first person between this line and the next.

[2:19]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and no fear of me was on you.”

[2:19]  ³⁶ tn Heb “the Lord Yahweh, [the God of] hosts.” For the title Lord God see the study note on 1:6. For the title “who rules over all” see the following study note. The title “the Lord who rules over all” is a way of rendering the title “Yahweh of armies.” It is an abbreviation of a longer title “Yahweh the God of armies” which occurs five times in Jeremiah (see, e.g., 44:7). The abbreviated title occurs seventy-seven times in the book of Jeremiah. On thirty-two occasions it is further qualified by the title “the God of Israel,” showing his special relation to Israel. On six occasions it is preceded by the title “Lord” (see, e.g., 46:10) and twice it is preceded by the title “the King” (see, e.g., 51:17). Both titles emphasize his sovereignty. Twice it is said that he is the maker of all things (10:16; 51:19), and once it is said that he made the earth and the people and animals on it and gives them into the control of whomever he wishes (27:4-5). On two occasions it is emphasized that he also made the heavenly elements and controls the natural elements of wind, rain, thunder, and hail (31:35; 51:14-16). All this is consistent with usage elsewhere where the “armies” over which he has charge are identified as (1) the angels which surround his throne (Isa 6:3, 5; 1 Kgs 22:19) and which he sends to protect his servants (2 Kgs 6:17), (2) the natural forces of thunder, rain, and hail (Isa 29:6; Josh 10:11; Judg 5:4, 5) through which he sends the enemy into panic and “gums” up their chariot wheels, (3) the armies of Israel (1 Sam 17:45) which he leads into battle (Num 10:34-35; Josh 5:14, 15) and for whom he fights as a mighty warrior (Exod 15:3; Isa 42:13; Ps 24:8), and even (4) the armies of the nations which he musters against his disobedient people (Isa 13:14). This title is most commonly found in the messenger formula “Thus says…” introducing both oracles of judgment (on Israel [e.g., 9:7, 15] and on the nations [e.g. 46:19; 50:18]; and see in general 25:29-32). It emphasizes his sovereignty as the king and creator, the lord of creation and of history, and the just judge who sees and knows all (11:20; 20:12) and judges each person and nation according to their actions (Jer 32:18-19). In the first instance (in the most dominant usage) this will involve the punishment of his own people through the agency of the Babylonians (cf., e.g., 25:8-9). But it will also include the punishment of all nations, including Babylon itself (cf. Jer 25:17-26, 32-38), and will ultimately result in the restoration of his people and a new relation with them (30:8; 31:35-37).

[4:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “Your way and your deeds.”

[4:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “How bitter!”

[4:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “Indeed, it reaches to your heart.” The subject must be the pain alluded to in the last half of the preceding line; the verb is masculine, agreeing with the adjective translated “painful.” The only other possible antecedent “punishment” is feminine.

[7:17]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “their knees will run with water.” The expression probably refers to urination caused by fright, which is how the LXX renders the phrase. More colloquial English would simply be “they will wet their pants,” but as D. I. Block (Ezekiel [NICOT], 1:261, n. 98) notes, the men likely wore skirts which were short enough to expose urine on the knees.

[7:18]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “baldness will be on their heads.”

[7:19]  ⁴² tn The Hebrew term can refer to menstrual impurity. The term also occurs at the end of v. 20.

[7:19]  ⁴³ sn Compare Zeph 1:18.

[7:19]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “it.” Apparently the subject is the silver and gold mentioned earlier (see L. C. Allen, Ezekiel [WBC], 1:102).

[7:19]  ⁴⁵ tn The “stumbling block of their iniquity” is a unique phrase of the prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 14:3, 4, 7; 18:30; 44:12).

[7:20]  ⁴⁶ tc The MT reads “he set up the beauty of his ornament as pride.” The verb may be repointed as plural without changing the consonantal text. The Syriac reads “their ornaments” (plural), implying עֶדְיָם (’edyam) rather than עֶדְיוֹ (’edyo) and meaning “they were proud of their beautiful ornaments.” This understands “ornaments” in the common sense of women’s jewelry, which then were used to make idols. The singular suffix “his ornaments” would refer to using items from the temple treasury to make idols. D. I. Block points out the foreshadowing of Ezek 16:17 which, with Rashi and the Targum, supports the understanding that this is a reference to temple items. See D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:265.

[7:22]  ⁴⁷ sn My treasured place probably refers to the temple (however, cf. NLT “my treasured land”).

[7:22]  ⁴⁸ sn Since the pronouns “it” are both feminine, they do not refer to the masculine “my treasured place”; instead they probably refer to Jerusalem or the land, both of which are feminine in Hebrew.

[22:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “usury and interest you take.” See 18:13, 17. This kind of economic exploitation violated the law given in Lev 25:36.

[22:12]  ⁵⁰ sn Forgetting the Lord is also addressed in Deut 6:12; 8:11, 14; Jer 3:21; 13:25; Ezek 23:35; Hos 2:15; 8:14; 13:6.

[22:12]  ⁵¹ tn The second person verb forms are feminine singular in Hebrew, indicating that the personified city is addressed here as representing its citizens.

[22:13]  ⁵² sn This gesture apparently expresses mourning and/or anger (see 6:11; 21:14, 17).

[22:13]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the blood which was in you.”

[22:14]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “stand.” The heart here stands for the emotions; Jerusalem would panic in the face of God’s judgment.

[22:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “in the days when I act against you.”

[22:15]  ⁵⁶ sn The ultimate purpose of divine judgment is to purify the covenant community of its sins.

[22:16]  ⁵⁷ tc Several ancient versions read the verb as first person, in which case the Lord refers to how his people’s sin brings disgrace upon him. For a defense of the Hebrew text, see D. I. Block, Ezekiel (NICOT), 1:712, n. 68, and M. Greenberg, Ezekiel (AB), 2:457-58.

[22:16]  tn The phrase “within yourself” is the same as the several previous occurrences of “within you” but adjusted to fit this clause which is the culmination of the series of indictments.

[22:2]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “will you judge.” Here the imperfect form of the verb is probably used with a desiderative nuance. Addressed to the prophet, “judge” means to warn of or pronounce God’s impending judgment upon the city. See 20:4.

[22:2]  ⁵⁹ tn The phrase “bloody city” is used of Nineveh in Nah 3:1.

[2:4]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “my works”; or “my accomplishments.” The term מַעֲשָׂי (ma’asay, “my works”) has been handled in two basic ways: (1) great works or projects, and (2) possessions. The latter assumes a metonymy, one’s effort standing for the possessions it produces. Both interpretations are reflected in the major English translations: “works” (KJV, NEB, NAB, ASV, NASB, MLB, RSV, Douay, Moffatt), “projects” (NIV), and “possessions” (NJPS).

[2:4]  sn This section (2:4-11) is unified and bracketed by the repetition of the verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to increase”) which occurs at the beginning (2:4) and end (2:9), and by the repetition of the root עשה (noun: “works” and verb: “to do, make, acquire”) which occurs throughout the section (2:4, 5, 6, 8, 11).

[2:4]  ⁶¹ sn The expression for myself is repeated eight times in 2:4-8 to emphasize that Qoheleth did not deny himself any acquisition. He indulged himself in acquiring everything he desired. His vast resources as king allowed him the unlimited opportunity to indulge himself. He could have anything his heart desired, and he did.

[2:5]  ⁶² tn Heb “made.”

[2:5]  ⁶³ tn The term does not refer here to vegetable gardens, but to orchards (cf. the next line). In the same way the so-called “garden” of Eden was actually an orchard filled with fruit trees. See Gen 2:8-9.

[2:5]  ⁶⁴ tn The noun פַּרְדֵּס (pardes, “garden, parkland, forest”) is a foreign loanword that occurs only 3 times in biblical Hebrew (Song 4:13; Eccl 2:5; Neh 2:8). The original Old Persian term pairidaeza designated the enclosed parks and pleasure-grounds that were the exclusive domain of the Persian kings and nobility (HALOT 963 s.v. פַּרְדֵּס; LSJ 1308 s.v παράδεισος). The related Babylonian term pardesu “marvelous garden” referred to the enclosed parks of the kings (AHw 2:833 and 3:1582). The term passed into Greek as παράδεισος (paradeisos, “enclosed park, pleasure-ground”), referring to the enclosed parks and gardens of the Persian kings (LSJ 1308). The Greek term has been transliterated into English as “paradise.”

[2:6]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “to water from them a grove” (or “forest).