Ratapan 2:8-9

ח (Khet)

2:8 The Lord was determined to tear down

Daughter Zion’s wall.

He prepared to knock it down; ¹ 

he did not withdraw his hand from destroying. ² 

He made the ramparts and fortified walls lament;

together they mourned their ruin. ³ 

ט (Tet)

2:9 Her city gates have fallen ⁴  to the ground;

he smashed to bits ⁵  the bars that lock her gates. ⁶ 

Her king and princes were taken into exile; ⁷ 

there is no more guidance available. ⁸ 

As for her prophets,

they no longer receive ⁹  a vision from the Lord.

Ratapan 2:1

The Prophet Speaks:

א (Alef)

2:1 Alas! ¹⁰  The Lord ¹¹  has covered

Daughter Zion ¹²  with his anger. ¹³ 

He has thrown down the splendor of Israel

from heaven to earth;

he did not protect ¹⁴  his temple ¹⁵ 

when he displayed his anger. ¹⁶ 

Kisah Para Rasul 9:7-8

9:7 (Now the men ¹⁷  who were traveling with him stood there speechless, ¹⁸  because they heard the voice but saw no one.) ¹⁹  9:8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open, ²⁰  he could see nothing. ²¹  Leading him by the hand, his companions ²²  brought him into Damascus.

Mazmur 74:2-3

74:2 Remember your people ²³  whom you acquired in ancient times,

whom you rescued ²⁴  so they could be your very own nation, ²⁵ 

as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell!

74:3 Hurry and look ²⁶  at the permanent ruins,

and all the damage the enemy has done to the temple! ²⁷ 

Yeremia 17:3

17:3 and on the mountains and in the fields. ²⁸ 

I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder.

I will give it away as the price ²⁹  for the sins you have committed throughout your land.

Yeremia 26:9

26:9 How dare you claim the Lord’s authority to prophesy such things! How dare you claim his authority to prophesy that this temple will become like Shiloh and that this city will become an uninhabited ruin!” ³⁰  Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah.

Yeremia 52:13

52:13 He burned down the Lord’s temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem, including every large house.

Mikha 3:12

3:12 Therefore, because of you, ³¹  Zion will be plowed up like ³²  a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,

and the Temple Mount ³³  will become a hill overgrown with brush! ³⁴ 

[2:8]  ¹ 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 Lord’s planning and preparation to destroy a walled city, that is, to mark off for destruction (2 Kgs 21:13; Isa 34:11; Lam 2:8). It is not completely clear how a phrase from the vocabulary of building becomes a metaphor for destruction; however, it might picture a predetermined and carefully planned measure from which God will not deviate.

[2:8]  ² tn Heb “He did not return His hand from swallowing.” That is, he persisted until it was destroyed.

[2:8]  ³ 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 Lord’s judgment on a nation. Based on parallel terms, אָמַל (’amal) may describe either mourning or deterioration and so makes for a convenient play on meaning when destroyed objects are personified. Incorporating this play into the translation, however, may obscure the parallel between this line and the deterioration of the gates beginning in v. 9.

[2:9]  ⁴ tn Heb “have sunk down.” This expression, “her gates have sunk down into the ground,” is a personification, picturing the city gates descending into the earth, as if going down into the grave or the netherworld. Most English versions render it literally (KJV, RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV, NJPS); however, a few paraphrases have captured the equivalent sense quite well: “Zion’s gates have fallen facedown on the ground” (CEV) and “the gates are buried in rubble” (TEV).

[2:9]  ⁵ tn Heb “he has destroyed and smashed her bars.” The two verbs אִבַּד וְשִׁבַּר (’ibbad vÿshibbar) form a verbal hendiadys that emphasizes the forcefulness of the destruction of the locking bars on the gates. The first verb functions adverbially and the second retains its full verbal sense: “he has smashed to pieces.” Several English versions render this expression literally and miss the rhetorical point: “he has ruined and broken” (RSV, NRSV), “he has destroyed and broken” (KJV, NASB), “he has broken and destroyed” (NIV). The hendiadys has been correctly noted by others: “smashed to pieces” (TEV, CEV) and “smashed to bits” (NJPS).

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “her bars.” Since the literal “bars” could be misunderstood as referring to saloons, the phrase “the bars that lock her gates” has been used in the present translation.

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “are among the nations.”

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “there is no torah” or “there is no Torah” (אֵין תּוֹרָה, ’en torah). Depending on whether תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction, law”) is used in parallelism with the preceding or following line, it refers to (1) political guidance that the now-exiled king had formerly provided or (2) prophetic instruction that the now-ineffective prophets had formerly provided (BDB 434 s.v. תּוֹרָה 1.b). It is possible that the three lines are arranged in an ABA chiastic structure, exploiting the semantic ambiguity of the term תּוֹרָה (torah, “instruction”). Possibly it is an oblique reference to the priests’ duties of teaching, thus introducing a third group of the countries leaders. It is possible to hear in this a lament in reference to the destruction of Torah scrolls that may have been at the temple when it was destroyed.

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “they cannot find.”

[2:1]  ¹⁰ tn See the note at 1:1.

[2:1]  ¹¹ tc The MT reads אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “the Lord”) here rather than יהוה (YHWH, “the Lord”). See the tc note at 1:14.

[2:1]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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.

[9:7]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek term here is ἀνήρ (anhr), which is used only rarely in a generic sense of both men and women. In the historical setting here, Paul’s traveling companions were almost certainly all males.

[9:7]  ¹⁸ tn That is, unable to speak because of fear or amazement. See BDAG 335 s.v. ἐνεός.

[9:7]  ¹⁹ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. Acts 22:9 appears to indicate that they saw the light but did not hear a voice. They were “witnesses” that something happened.

[9:8]  ²⁰ tn Grk “his eyes being open,” a genitive absolute construction that has been translated as a concessive adverbial participle.

[9:8]  ²¹ 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]  ²² tn Grk “they”; the referents (Saul’s companions) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[74:2]  ²³ tn Heb “your assembly,” which pictures God’s people as an assembled community.

[74:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “redeemed.” The verb “redeem” casts God in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).

[74:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the tribe of your inheritance” (see Jer 10:16; 51:19).

[74:3]  ²⁶ tn Heb “lift up your steps to,” which may mean “run, hurry.”

[74:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “everything [the] enemy has damaged in the holy place.”

[17:3]  ²⁸ tc This reading follows some of the ancient versions. The MT reads, “hills. My mountain in the open field [alluding to Jerusalem] and your wealth…I will give.” The vocalization of the noun plus pronoun and the unusual form of the expression to allude to Jerusalem calls into question the originality of the MT. The MT reads הֲרָרִי (harari) which combines the suffix for a singular noun with a pointing of the noun in the plural, a form which would be without parallel (compare the forms in Ps 30:8 for the singular noun with suffix and Deut 8:9 for the plural noun with suffix). Likewise, Jerusalem was not “in the open field.” For a similar expression compare Jer 13:27.

[17:3]  ²⁹ tc Or “I will give away your wealth, all your treasures, and your places of worship…” The translation follows the emendation suggested in the footnote in BHS, reading בִּמְחִיר (bimkhir) in place of בָּמֹתֶיךָ (bamotekha). The forms are graphically very close and one could explain the origin of either from the other. The parallel in 15:13-14 reads לֹא בִּמְחִיר (lo’ bimkhir). The text here may be a deliberate play on that one. The emended text makes decidedly better sense contextually than the MT unless some sardonic reference to their idolatry is intended.

[26:9]  ³⁰ tn Heb “Why have you prophesied in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘This house will become like Shiloh and this city will become a ruin without inhabitant?’” It is clear from the context here and in 7:1-15 that the emphasis is on “in the Lord’s name” and that the question is rhetorical. The question is not a quest for information but an accusation, a remonstrance. (For this figure see E. W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech, 953-54, who calls a question like this a rhetorical question of remonstrance or expostulation. For good examples see Pss 11:1; 50:16.) For the significance of “prophesying in the Lord’s name” see the study note on 14:14. The translation again utilizes the indirect quote to eliminate one level of embedded quotation.

[26:9]  sn They are questioning his right to claim the Lord’s authority for what they see as a false prophecy. They believed that the presence of the Lord in the temple guaranteed their safety (7:4, 10, 14) and that the Lord could not possibly be threatening its destruction. Hence they were ready to put him to death as a false prophet according to the law of Moses (Deut 18:20).

[3:12]  ³¹ tn The plural pronoun refers to the leaders, priests, and prophets mentioned in the preceding verse.

[3:12]  ³² tn Or “into” (an adverbial accusative of result).

[3:12]  ³³ tn Heb “the mountain of the house” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV).

[3:12]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a high place of overgrowth.”